UN Security Council Denounces Deadly Attack on Lebanon Peacekeeper

(MENAFN) The UN Security Council issued its strongest rebuke Monday over a weekend attack on international peacekeepers in southern Lebanon that left one soldier dead and three others wounded, demanding swift accountability and calling on all parties to guarantee the safety of the mission's personnel.

The council members "reaffirmed their full support for UNIFIL and urged all parties to take all measures to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises, as well as the freedom of movement of the mission, in a manner consistent with international law, including by refraining from actions that may put peacekeepers in danger and impede the Force to carry on its mandate."

The statement was directed at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the longstanding peacekeeping mission deployed across southern Lebanon. Saturday's assault claimed the life of a French soldier and left three of his fellow peacekeepers injured — an incident the council addressed with unusual urgency and unanimity.

"Peacekeepers must never be the target of an attack," the Security Council declared.

The body went further, pressing the UN to "swiftly" investigate the circumstances of the strike and "called for those responsible for the attack to be held accountable without delay."

UNIFIL confirmed it has opened a formal investigation after one of its positions "came under small-arms fire from non-state actors" in the southern village of Ghanduriyah on Saturday.

Hezbollah, widely scrutinized in the immediate aftermath, flatly denied any involvement. The group expressed frustration at what it characterized as hasty finger-pointing, arguing that certain parties were quick to assign blame "while remaining silent during Israeli attacks on UNIFIL forces" — a pointed counter-accusation that threatens to complicate the investigation and inflame broader tensions over the mission's security.

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