UN peacekeeper killed and two others seriously injured in attack in South Lebanon
A UN peacekeeper has been shot dead, and two other soldiers have been seriously injured in a shooting incident in South Lebanon.
Reports from Reuters News Agency state that one peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded after their UNIFIL patrol came under small-arms fire.
The patrol had been clearing a road in the southern Lebanese village of Ghandouriyeh, when they were attacked.
UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon) armoured personnel carriers depart a base to patrol near the Lebanon-Israel border. Pic: Carl Court/Getty Images
The Lebanese Prime Minister Joseph Aoun, and the Lebanese army have condemned the shooting and said an investigation will be opened immediately.
UNIFIL said preliminary findings suggest the fire may have originated from groups linked to Hezbollah, and confirmed an investigation is underway into what it described as a ‘deliberate attack.’
(L to R) Lebanese army soldiers and peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed in Lebanon’s southern Naqoura region. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was killed in the incident.
He attributed responsibility to the Iran-backed group Hezbollah and called on Lebanese authorities to take action against those involved.
