India on Thursday condemned attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which resulted in the death of three Indonesian peacekeepers against the backdrop of an Israeli ground offensive, and called for accountability for crimes against UN peacekeeping troops. FILE PHOTO: UNIFIL vehicles drive on a main road in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon. (REUTERS)
Two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed and two more were injured when an explosion hit a UNIFIL logistics convoy in southern Lebanon on March 30. A day earlier, another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed when a projectile hit the mission’s base in Ett Taibe. More than 8,000 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries serve with UNIFIL, and India is the fourth-largest contributor, with more than 640 troops.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing that India has condemned the recent attacks on UNIFIL in which several troops lost their lives. “Once again, we would like to emphasise that the inviolability of UN missions must be ensured and the safety and security of our peacekeepers must be ensured,” he said.
“As one of the largest and longest serving contributors to peacekeeping, and in consonance with UN Security Council resolution 2589, we seek accountability for crimes against peacekeepers,” he said.
The Indian side has been silent on Israel’s role in several recent attacks on UNIFIL, while Indonesia’s UN representative has called on the United Nations to investigate the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. The demand was made at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
UNIFIL is conducting investigations to determine the “circumstances of these tragic developments”, the head of UN peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said in New York.
“We strongly condemn these unacceptable incidents. Peacekeepers must never be a target,” he told journalists at UN Headquarters. “We also remain seriously concerned about several aggressive behaviour incidents against UNIFIL peacekeepers in the past couple of days.”
UNIFIL was established in 1978 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, restore peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in ensuring its effective authority in the area.
Jaiswal noted that India has played an important role in UN peacekeeping operations going back several decades. “We are the largest troop contributing country to UN peacekeeping missions, and the contributions of our peacekeepers…to global peace and security [is well regarded],” he said.