A French soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been killed and three other peacekeepers wounded in an attack in southern Lebanon.
The attack took place in the village of Ghandouriyeh, where three members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured, two of them seriously on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.
UNIFIL said preliminary assessments indicated the attack was carried out by non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah and announced the launch of an investigation into what it described as a “deliberate attack”.
In separate calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned what his office called the “unacceptable attack”, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
Macron said the evidence gathered so far pointed to the Lebanese armed group and urged the Lebanese government to take action against those responsible.
Hezbollah denied the allegations and urged caution against drawing premature conclusions.
“We deny any connection to the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghandouriyeh area in Bint Jbeil,” the group said in a statement.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident and called on all parties to respect the ceasefire and end the fighting.
The Lebanese army also condemned the attack and announced the opening of an investigation.
sa
Views: 1
