NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned on Saturday condemned the killing of a French peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, warning that repeated attacks on its forces may constitute war crimes.
In a statement issued by UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres said the peacekeeper, serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), was killed and three others wounded — two seriously — when their patrol came under fire earlier in the day.
An initial UNIFIL assessment also said the troops were targeted by non-state actors, believed to be Hezbollah, while investigating reports of improvised explosive devices placed along a road between two UN positions in southern Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron categorically blamed Hezbollah, an accusation the Iran-backed group has denied.
“The Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) strongly condemns this attack,” Dujarric said in a statement, extending condolences to the victim’s family and to France, and wishing a swift recovery to the injured.
The incident marks the third fatal attack on UNIFIL personnel in recent weeks, despite a 10-day cessation of hostilities announced on April 16. Guterres urged all parties to respect the truce and halt violence immediately.
He stressed that attacks against peacekeepers are “grave violations of international humanitarian law” and breach United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and underpins UNIFIL’s mandate.
“All attacks on peacekeepers must be promptly investigated, and those responsible must be held accountable,” he said.
The UNIFIL, established in 1978 and expanded after the 2006 conflict, monitors the cessation of hostilities along the Israel-Lebanon border and supports the Lebanese Armed Forces in securing the country’s south. The mission currently includes more than 10,000 troops from dozens of countries, with France among its key contributors.
Tensions in southern Lebanon have remained high amid periodic exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, complicating UNIFIL patrols and increasing risks to peacekeepers operating in volatile areas.
The UN has repeatedly warned that restrictions on UNIFIL’s freedom of movement and attacks on its personnel undermine efforts to maintain stability along the so-called Blue Line, the UN-demarcated boundary between Lebanon and Israel.
ARAB News
