‘Safety and security paramount’: India joins UN peacekeeping nations in condemning Lebanon attacks – News18

Dozens of peacekeeping nations, including India, which contribute to the UN force in Lebanon, strongly condemned the recent attacks on peacekeepers deployed in the country amid Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah.

“Such actions must stop immediately and must be adequately investigated,” said the joint statement on Saturday, signed by nations including leading actors Indonesia and Italy. Other signatories include Ghana, Nepal, Malaysia, Spain and France – all countries that have contributed several hundred soldiers to the force.

At least five peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israel wages its battle against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, fueling fears of a wider conflict in the West Asian region. The UNIFIL peacekeeping mission accused the Israeli army of “deliberately” shelling its positions.

“Lasting Peace in Lebanon, Middle East”

Lebanon’s health ministry said on Saturday that Israeli airstrikes on three sites killed at least 15 people, adding to earlier casualties. Israel had earlier told residents of southern Lebanon not to return home as its troops battled Hezbollah fighters in a war that has killed more than 1,200 people since September 23.

More than one million people have been forced to flee their homes, Lebanese authorities said. Hezbollah said it fired rockets into northern Israel, where air raid sirens sounded and the military said it intercepted a projectile. Iran-backed rebels have stepped up attacks on targets in and around Israel’s main northern city of Haifa.

In a joint statement, the 40 participating countries reaffirmed their “full support for UNIFIL’s mission and activities, whose primary objective is to bring stabilization and lasting peace to southern Lebanon as well as the Middle East.” “We call on the parties to the conflict to respect the presence of UNIFIL, which entails the obligation to ensure the safety and security of their personnel at all times,” it added.

UNIFIL, which includes about 9,500 soldiers of about 50 nationalities, is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire that ended the 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah. Its role was strengthened by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of the same year, which decreed that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces should be deployed in southern Lebanon.

Peacekeepers “repeatedly” under fire

At a summit on Friday, French, Italian and Spanish leaders said “attacks” on UNIFIL peacekeepers violated Resolution 1701 and must stop. UNIFIL said its forces had been “repeatedly” shelled in the Lebanese city of Nakura, where it is headquartered, as well as other positions in recent days. The mission said Israeli tank fire on Thursday caused two Indonesian peacekeepers to fall from an observation tower in Nakura.

The next day, he said explosions near an observation tower in Nakura wounded two Sri Lankan peacekeepers, while Israel said it responded to an “imminent threat” near a UN peacekeeping position. On Saturday, UNIFIL said a peacekeeper in Nakura was “hit by gunfire” on Friday night.

The situation in Lebanon is getting worse

Earlier on Friday, India expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in southern Lebanon following reports that UN peacekeepers were injured in an Israeli strike. “We are concerned about the deteriorating security situation on the Blue Line. We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

Without naming anyone directly, the MEA stressed that everyone should respect the inviolability of UN premises. “The inviolability of UN premises must be respected by all and appropriate measures taken to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers and the sanctity of their mandate,” the ministry said. This statement came as more than 900 Indian soldiers are currently serving with the UN Interim Force in South Lebanon.

(Agency Information)