UN names Italian major general to head force in Lebanon

(ANSA) - New York, June 17 - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named Italian Major General Luciano Portolano to head the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
    Portolano, 54, will succeed his countryman Major General Paolo Serra, who is leaving the post on July 24 after two-and-a-half years. A native of the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Portolano previously commanded the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command West in Afghanistan.
    Last week he received the Legion of Merit, a military award from the United States Armed Forces, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in Afghanistan. Portolano also served as commander in Iraq, Kosovo, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
    He was one of three candidates for the UNIFIL post, along with generals from Finland and Nepal.
    Italy is the fourth-largest financial supporter of UN peacekeeping missions and has contributed some 10,100 soldiers to UNIFIL, making it one of the main troop contributors to the multinational force which was established in 1978 to monitor the border between Lebanon and Israel.
    This is the third time an Italian general is given the UNIFIL command since 2007, after the three-year mandate of General Claudio Graziano, now the Chief of the Staff of the Italian Army.
    UNIFIL was created by the UN Security Council in March 1978, which further enhanced UNIFIL in 2006.
    In a communique, Ban expressed gratitude to Serra for "his excellent service and leadership of UNIFIL".
    Monday's appointment came on the eve of an international conference in Rome to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.