Lebanon security talks in Paris to focus on post-UNIFIL alternatives

European and Arab military chiefs are meeting in Paris to assess the Lebanese Armed Forces’ needs and discuss the looming end of the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, amid fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon. Thursday’s talks will initially be chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. The United States will be represented by a senior military official involved in Middle East security issues, the Reuters news agency reported. The meetings come after Israel and Lebanon held ⁠several rounds of US-brokered talks aimed at easing tensions along their border.