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Must respect inviolability of UN premises: India on Israeli strike
Indian Army personnel have been deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) since November 1998.
India on Friday expressed concern at the deteriorating security situation in the area covered by the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which includes nearly 900 Indian troops, after four peacekeepers from Indonesia and Sri Lanka were injured in attacks by Israeli forces.
Indian Army personnel have been deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) since November 1998. Troops from Kazakhstan also serve under the command of the Indian battalion. The UN peacekeepers ignored an Israeli warning to leave the area shortly after its invasion of Lebanon earlier this month.
The 50 countries contributing troops to UNIFIL agreed on Thursday to continue deploying more than 10,400 peacekeepers between the Litani river in the north and the UN-recognised border between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line, in the south.
“We are concerned at the deteriorating security situation along the Blue Line. We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement.
“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,” it said.
UNIFIL said in a statement that the force’s headquarters in Naqoura was affected by explosions for the second time in two days and two peacekeepers were injured when two explosions occurred close to an observation tower. One injured peacekeeper was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Tyre, and the second was treated in Naqoura.
Lebanon’s foreign ministry said attacks targeted watchtowers and the UNIFIL base in Naqoura and the Sri Lankan battalion’s base. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported shelling by an Israeli Merkava tank injured soldiers from the Sri Lankan battalion.
On Thursday, two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli Merkava tank fired at an observation tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall.
UNIFIL also said that “several T-walls at our UN position 1-31, near the Blue Line in Labbouneh, fell when an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] caterpillar hit the perimeter and IDF tanks moved in the proximity of the UN position” on Friday.
“These incidents put again UN peacekeepers, who are serving in south Lebanon at the request of the Security Council under resolution 1701 (2006), at very serious risks,” the statement said.
“This is a serious development, and UNFIL reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006),” it added.
Another statement issued by UNIFIL on Thursday said the force’s “Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit”. Israeli soldiers fired on UN position 1-31 in Labbouneh, hitting the entrance of a bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering and damaging vehicles and a communications system.
Israeli soldiers “deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras” at Labbouneh. They also deliberately fired on UN position 1-32A in Ras Naqoura, damaging equipment.
The escalation along the Blue Line is “causing widespread destruction of towns and villages in south Lebanon”, and there have been incursions from Israel into Lebanon at Naqoura and other areas. Israeli soldiers have also clashed with Hezbollah elements on the ground in Lebanon, UNIFIL said.
The attacks by the Israeli military prompted denunciations by several countries. Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday it was “outraged” by the targeting of UN peacekeepers and demanded Israel refrain from “hostile actions” against them. China expressed “grave concern and strong condemnation” of Israel’s attacks on UN peace operations.
France, which has 700 troops deployed with UNIFIL, summoned the Israeli ambassador to Paris to seek an explanation, “These attacks constitute serious violations of international law and must stop immediately,” the French the foreign ministry said.
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto denounced the attacks as a possible war crime. Italy too has troops serving with UNIFIL and some of their positions have been targeted.
Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi confirmed her country’s peacekeepers were in hospital. “Indonesia strongly condemns the attack,” she said. “Attacking UN personnel and property is a major violation of international humanitarian law.”
