UNIFIL deputy commander wounded when convoy he travelled in was attacked by protesters who set his UN automobile on hearth.
The outgoing deputy commander of the United Nations Interim Power in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was injured when protesters halted his convoy and torched the automobile during which he was travelling to Beirut’s airport.
Main-Basic Chok Bahadur Dhakal was on his option to depart the nation for Nepal on Friday evening after finishing his mission when the UNIFIL convoy taking peacekeepers to the airport was attacked by protesters. The Lebanese military intervened however not earlier than the UN peacekeepers sustained accidents.
UNIFIL mentioned in a press release that assaults on peacekeepers have been a “flagrant” violation of worldwide legislation and “could quantity to battle crimes”.
“We’re shocked by this outrageous assault on peacekeepers who’ve been serving to revive safety and stability to south Lebanon throughout a troublesome time,” UNIFIL mentioned.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun on Saturday condemned the assault, saying safety forces is not going to tolerate anybody who tries to destabilise the nation. Aoun “emphasised that the attackers will obtain their punishment”, a press release from the presidency mentioned on X.
‘Deliver them to justice’
Protesters mentioned to be supporters of Hezbollah blocked the highway to the nation’s solely airport for a second day on Friday, following a call by Lebanese authorities to cease Iranian planes from touchdown within the capital Beirut due to allegations by the Israeli navy that Tehran is making an attempt to smuggle funds to Hezbollah utilizing civilian flights.
The choice led to claims the Lebanese authorities has caved to stress from Israel.
The Lebanese military mentioned in a press release performing commander Main-Basic Hassan Odeh had contacted UNIFIL and pledged to “work to arrest the residents who attacked its members and produce them to justice”.
Lebanese state information company NNA reported Inside Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar referred to as for an emergency assembly earlier than midday on Saturday to debate the safety scenario and describe the assault as a “crime towards UNIFIL forces”.
He additionally gave directions to work on figuring out the perpetrators and referring them to the related judicial authorities.
The USA additionally condemned the assault it mentioned “resulted in a number of accidents on UN peacekeepers”. The Division of State assertion mentioned the assault was carried out “reportedly by a bunch of Hezbollah supporters”.
“We commend the swift response of the Lebanese Armed Forces to stop additional violence, and the Lebanese authorities’s dedication to take all vital measures to carry people accountable for his or her actions,” it mentioned.
Hezbollah gave the impression to be making an attempt to distance itself from the assault with a press release shared on social media by al-Manar TV blaming “unruly components” for having “triggered chaos with suspicious targets on the Beirut airport highway”.
The Amal Motion, the political celebration of parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, mentioned in a press release “the assault on UNIFIL is an assault on southern Lebanon” and referred to as for the military and safety forces to pursue the perpetrators.
UNIFIL was created to supervise the withdrawal of the Israeli navy from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion.
The UN expanded its mission following the 2006 battle between Israel and Hezbollah, permitting peacekeepers to deploy alongside the Israeli border to assist the Lebanese navy lengthen its authority into the nation’s south for the primary time in many years.
Each Hezbollah and Israel recurrently accuse UNIFIL of collusion, and peacekeepers have beforehand come below assault from Israeli forces.
Through the latest Israeli battle on Lebanon, Israel demanded UNIFIL depart its positions within the south of the nation and Israeli tanks educated their weapons on peacekeepers, destroying a gate at a UNIFIL base and firing on a UNIFIL watchtower.