The UN Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon by a further 12 months, giving it more time to improve its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces. The UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is comprised of more than 13,000 military and civilians, will now remain in southern Lebanon until August 2013. The council urged both UNIFIL and the Lebanese forces to enhance their cooperation and dialogue so that they can implement UN resolutions monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah movement and the so-called “blue line,” a UN-backed border between Israel and Lebanon.