Argentina has notified the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon of its withdrawal from the force, a UNIFIL spokesperson said on Tuesday, in the first sign of cracks in the unity of the mission following attacks it has blamed on Israel.
The 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the demarcation line with Israel, an area where there have been hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters for over a year.
"Argentina has asked its officers to go back (to Argentina)," UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in response to a question about a newspaper report.
He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to Argentina's government.
Argentina is one of 48 countries contributing peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with a total of three staff currently in Lebanon, a UN website showed. It did not immediately respond to Tenenti's comments.