EU Says Attacks on UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Are Grave Violation
"We call for a thorough investigation to shed light on these grave attacks. These attacks are a grave violation of international law, are totally unacceptable and must stop immediately," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.
Calls for accountability grew across Europe after three Indonesian United Nations peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon, pushing the conflict’s toll beyond the battlefield and deepening alarm over the safety of international forces.
Three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia died in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend that also saw Lebanese journalists and medics killed in Israeli strikes.
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“We call for a thorough investigation to shed light on these grave attacks. These attacks are a grave violation of international law, are totally unacceptable and must stop immediately,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.
The EU’s condemnation came as Israel’s military said it had opened its own investigation into the deaths.
“It should be noted these incidents occurred in an active combat area,” where it was operating against Iran-backed group Hezbollah, the post added.
“Therefore, it should not be assumed that incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed were caused by the IDF,” it said, referring to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
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Two peacekeepers were killed when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, UNIFIL said in a statement.
Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast.
A third Indonesian soldier was killed overnight yesterday after a projectile detonated near one of the force’s positions close to the southern Lebanese village of Adchital-Qusayr.
Another peacekeeper was critically injured.
Commandant Alex Quigley of the Defence Forces said Israeli Defence Force activity had increased, with limited incursions reported into the Irish area of operation in southern Lebanon.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said: “Across the whole UNIFIL AO (Area of Operations) you would see like limited patrols for example, Israeli Defence Force patrols inside the area of operations.”
Addressing the deaths of the three Indonesian peacekeepers, he offered sympathies on behalf of the Defence Forces and said he could not discuss details while the attack remained under investigation.
He said: “Our army personnel are deployed to a conflict zone, so the threat isn’t unfamiliar to them, but our personnel are highly trained and highly prepared for these missions.
“Before they go they undergo a three-month mission readiness exercise.”
Once deployed to southern Lebanon, he said, UNIFIL troops serve as the “eyes and ears of the international community”.
“What is happening right now is part of their job and we have the force protection measures in place to mitigate against that risk,” he added.
The UN Security Council will meet in an emergency session this morning following the killings
The peacekeeper’s death on Sunday was the first within the UN peacekeeping force since the new war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah erupted on 2 March.
“These are two separate incidents and we are investigating them as two separate incidents,” said UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel.
The UN Security Council will meet in an emergency session this morning following the killings.
France, a permanent member of the Security Council, requested the meeting.
Announcing the move on social media, French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot said France condemned the attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers in the strongest possible terms.
Yesterday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix told reporters at the UN in New York that UNIFIL, as a Security Council-mandated operation, had a “duty to stay”, though he said its operations were constrained.
A UN source told RTÉ News that UNIFIL peacekeepers remained at their posts, but contingency plans – from risk mitigation steps to troop relocation – were under consideration if the situation continued to worsen.
Responding to the first death, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said the dead peacekeeper was one of its citizens and that three others were injured by “indirect artillery fire”.
Indonesia condemned the incident, said any harm to peacekeepers was unacceptable, and reiterated its condemnation” of Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
“We strongly condemn these unacceptable incidents -peacekeepers must never be a target,” the UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters in a briefing.
Paramedics, journalists killed
UNIFIL is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel, an area now at the centre of fighting between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.
Lebanon was drawn deeper into the Middle East war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Iran was attacked by Israel and the United States.
Hezbollah’s attack triggered a new Israeli ground and air offensive.
Lebanese authorities say more than 1,240 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
The dead include more than 120 children, nearly 80 women and dozens of paramedics.
More than 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since 2 March, according to two sources familiar with Hezbollah’s count.
The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings to residents of six villages in Lebanon’s western Bekaa region, the first such warning for those areas.
The military said the warning was prompted by what it described as militant activity in the area, without giving further details.
Mourners carry the coffin of Mohammed Ftouni during the funeral of three Lebanese journalists
Fresh airstrikes hit several towns in southern Lebanon, and at least one strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli military said the strikes in Beirut targeted commanders responsible for coordination between Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least ten paramedics were killed over the weekend in Israeli strikes.
Three journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their car.
The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah operatives of posing as Lebanese paramedics and said some journalists it killed belonged to the group’s intelligence or military wing.
It has not publicly provided evidence to support those claims.
Lebanon’s health ministry has denied that any ambulances or health facilities are used for military purposes.
Lebanon’s presidency has said that targeted journalists are “civilians performing a professional duty. “Israel has said it intends to control a buffer zone up to the Litani River, which runs about 30km north of the Lebanese border with Israel.
Additional reporting AFP, Reuters