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MADRID 15 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations peace mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported this Thursday that “unknown individuals” have fired approximately 30 shots in the direction of the ‘blue helmets’ of a patrol that was near the town of Qalawiyé, in the south. from Lebanon.
The incident took place during the morning when a patrol found an ammunition depot near the road. The mission reported the discovery to the Lebanese Army and the ‘blue helmets’ continued with “their planned route.” “Shortly after, they got out of their vehicle to remove some debris from the road. When they got into the vehicles, two or three unknown individuals fired approximately 30 shots in their direction,” he explained.
“Peacekeepers responded to gunfire from their vehicles and fled to safety. No one was injured and the vehicles were not damaged. It is not clear whether the discovery of the weapons depot and the attack are directly related,” he said. UNIFIL, which has opened an investigation into the matter.
The organization has recalled that the peacekeepers can “never” be attacked because shooting at them “is a flagrant violation of International Law.” Likewise, he reminded the Lebanese authorities of their responsibility to guarantee the safety of the ‘blue helmets’ who “carry out delicate and important work in Lebanese territory.”
“We have asked the Lebanese authorities to carry out a full and exhaustive investigation into this incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he claimed, although he stressed that, “despite these and other challenges” , will maintain their positions and continue to monitor “and impartially report” on violations of resolution 1701.
The head of United Nations peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who is visiting the country, met on Wednesday with several members of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon and this Thursday he held meetings with the president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabi Berri, several ministers and the commander of the Army, Joseph Aoun.
The day before, the UN Security Council condemned “the various incidents that have affected mission positions and injured personnel” in recent weeks, “against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities throughout of the Blue Line”, and urged both the Israeli Army and the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah to guarantee the security of the ‘blue helmets’.
The Israeli Army unleashed a new invasion of Lebanon on October 1 after several weeks of intense bombings and attacks against the country, including the coordinated explosion of thousands of communication devices, after more than eleven months of fighting with Hezbollah in the border area. which have caused more than 3,300 deaths in Lebanese territory.
The resurgence in hostilities is part of the clashes that began more than a year ago, after Hezbollah attacked Israeli territory a day after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, which led Israel to unleash a bloody offensive against the Gaza Strip, where more than 43,700 people have already died.