Three UN military observers, a Lebanese interpreter wounded in blast while patrolling southern border

[Pelican Press 0]

Three UN military observers, a Lebanese interpreter wounded in blast while patrolling southern border

A man visits the ******* Nations Headquarters as delegates of the Security Council delated for one extra day the vote on a proposal to demand that ******* and ****** allow aid access to the Gaza Strip via land, sea and air routes and set up U.N. monitoring of the humanitarian assistance, at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., December 20, 2023.  

Eduardo Munoz | Reuters

Three ******* Nations military observers and a Lebanese interpreter were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said.

The military observers are part of the ******* Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that the four wounded were in stable condition.

Tenenti said UNIFIL had informed all warring parties of their patrols as usual and the observers’ vehicle was carrying clear UN markings. The three military observers, from Chile, Australia, and Norway, were unarmed, he said.

The blast came as clashes between the ******** military and Hezbollah militants escalated in recent weeks. Both sides have been exchanging ***** since the *******-****** war in Gaza broke out, propelling concerns that the near-daily clashes along the border could escalate into a full-scale war.

Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an ******** drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeich.

The ******** military on social media platform X, formerly

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, said: “Contrary to the reports, the IDF did not strike a @UNIFIL —vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning.”

Tenenti said UNIFIL was “investigating the origin of the **********,” but it was difficult to put investigators on the ground immediately because of the ongoing exchange of *****.

“The targeting of peacekeepers is unacceptable,” Tenenti told The Associated Press. “We repeat our call for all actors to cease the current heavy exchanges of ***** before more people are unnecessarily hurt.”

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikat condemned the incident in a statement.

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of ******** troops from southern Lebanon after *******’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between ******* and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the ******** border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country’s south for the first time in decades.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Breaking News: Politics,Politics,business news
#military #observers #Lebanese #interpreter #wounded #blast #patrolling #southern #border

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up