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UN says its Lebanon peacekeepers ‘increasingly in jeopardy’
The safety and security of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon are “increasingly in jeopardy” and operational activities have virtually come to a halt since September 23, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix tells the Security Council.
“Peacekeepers have been confined to their bases with significant periods of time in shelter,” he said, adding that UNIFIL was ready to support all efforts towards a diplomatic solution.
“UNIFIL is mandated to support the implementation of resolution 1701, but we must insist that it is for the parties themselves to implement the provisions of this resolution,” he told the 15-member council.
Security Council resolution 1701 gives UNIFIL a mandate to help the Lebanese army keep its southern border area with Israel free of weapons or armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state.
Indonesia condemns Israeli attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon: Report
Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “strongly condemned” the Israeli military’s attack in southern Lebanon that injured two Indonesian peacekeepers serving with the UNIFIL force, local media report.
According to Indonesia’s Kompas TV news, the two Indonesian UN peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank opened fire on their UNIFIL base in Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Thursday.
The two personnel were sent for treatment at a nearby hospital and are “currently in good condition”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
UNIFIL are committed to staying in place despite Israeli attack
We have heard condemnation from the UN of Israel’s targeting of the UN Interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the last 24 hours or so, calling on it to be protected.
We have heard from the Israeli ambassador to the UN. He repeated calls for UNIFIL troops to move back at least 5 kilometres (3 miles) away from their areas of operation.
That’s something that UNIFIL has said it will not do right now. It says it is fulfilling a UN Security Council mandate in Lebanon, and UNIFIL’s position is we don’t respond to Israel in this way. So clearly, this is the sort of tone that we’ve been hearing from the Security Council meeting.
The overriding theme from most Security Council members is condemning Israel’s attack on UNIFIL and calling for UNIFIL to be protected, as well as calling for a ceasefire.
France, US make call for stronger Lebanese army at UNSC
France and the US called for a strengthened Lebanese army at the UN Security Council, saying the move is crucial to implementing a resolution aiming to keep peace on Lebanon’s border with Israel.
“The solution to this crisis is not a weaker Lebanon. It’s a strong and truly sovereign Lebanon, protected by a legitimate security force, embodied in the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood told a meeting of the 15-member UNSC on Thursday. France’s UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere also called for “heightened support for Lebanese institutions, in particular, the Lebanese Armed Forces”.
“We need the Lebanese Armed Forces to be deployed to the south and do the job,” he told reporters. “What we need to do is to make sure that the Lebanese Armed Forces are properly equipped and trained.”
The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), mandated by resolution 1701 and adopted in 2006, aims to help the Lebanese army keep its southern border with Israel free of weapons or armed personnel, except those from the Lebanese state.
