190109 Jan Kubis
Jan Kubis Image Credit: AFP

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Jan Kubis, who has led UN missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, to be the new UN special coordinator in Lebanon, the UN announced Wednesday.

Kubis, a former foreign minister of Slovakia, will take over from Pernille Dahler Kardel of Denmark, who was acting coordinator since November 2017.

The appointment comes amid tensions between Israel and Lebanon, where the United Nations has deployed a peacekeeping force to monitor the border.

Israel's army last month launched an operation to destroy tunnels dug by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to cross into Israel.

Kubis served as UN envoy to Iraq from 2015 to December 2018 and led the UN mission to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2015.