UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council Tuesday welcomed the newly formed Lebanese national unity government and expressed continued support for the UN peacekeeping force in the region.

    In a statement read to the press here, the president of the Security Council for November, Austrian UN Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, said, "Members of the Security Council welcome the newly formed national government of Lebanon and express continued support for the UNIFIL," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

    Originally, UNIFIL was created by the Security Council in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its effective authority in the area.

    Following the July/August 2006 crisis, the Council enhanced UNIFIL and decided that in addition to the original mandate, it would, among other things, monitor the cessation of hostilities; accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the south of Lebanon; and extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons.

    On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the formation of a national unity government in Lebanon led by Saad Hariri, calling on the new government to recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.

    Lebanon's five-month-long cabinet formation process came to an end on Monday, after Hariri presented the opposition-endorsed cabinet lineup proposal to Suleiman.

    UN Resolution 1701 ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, and reinforced the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon(UNIFIL) to conduct peacekeeping missions in south Lebanon.