The UN Security Council warned on Thursday against attempts to destabilize Lebanon, as it renewed the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in the country for another year.

The UN Security Council warned on Thursday against attempts to destabilize Lebanon, as it renewed the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in the country for another year.

The UN Security Council condemned "all attempts to threaten the security and stability of Lebanon, reaffirming its determination to ensure that no such acts of intimidation will prevent UNIFIL from implementing its mandate," said the council resolution on the UN force.

The council also expressed "deep concern" at violations of the 2006 resolution that ended the war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL has been in southern Lebanon since 1978 and was expanded after the 2006 war so peacekeepers could deploy along the border with the occupied territories. The resolution, passed unanimously by the 15-nation council, extended the force's mandate until August 31, 2013.