Lebanon, a Mediterranean country in the Middle East, gained its independence in 1947. Since then the periods of peace and political instability have been interchanging.

In 1978, due to the attacks of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Israel invaded Lebanon in order to destroy Palestinian bases in Lebanon. In March 1978, the UN Security Council adopted Resolutions 425 and 426 which called for the cessation of action as well as the establishment and subsequent deployment of UNIFIL forces in South Lebanon. The initial purpose was to control the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon and the respect of armistice between the countries. However, the unstable situation demanded the continuous presence of UN forces. The last of the armed conflicts between Israel and the Hezbollah's armed wing in July 2006 was followed by the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (11 August 2006) which called for the extension of UNIFIL's strength to the maximum of 15,000 soldiers. This decision was motivated by the situation in Lebanon which constituted a threat to international peace and security.

On 7 September 2006, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to deploy 12 SAF members to the operation UNIFIL, thereby contributing to the settlement of the situation in Lebanon. The first SAF members were deployed in December 2006.