Explosion wounds five UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon

[News_Editor]

Explosion wounds five UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon

2011-12-10 15:48:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

TYRE, LEBANON (BNO NEWS) -- Five French peacekeepers were wounded on Friday when a roadside bomb hit a United Nations (UN) convoy in southern Lebanon, UN officials said on Saturday.

The improvised explosive device targeted a vehicle with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) when it was traveling on the southern outskirts of the port city of Tyre. The five injured peacekeepers were treated at the scene and later evacuated for further medical treatment.

"UNIFIL's forensics and investigation teams are at the location of the explosive attack, working in close cooperation with their counterparts in the Lebanese Armed Forces to determine all the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident," the mission said in a statement.

Security sources said a Lebanese man, traveling along the street on his motorcycle, was also wounded in the attack. Lebanon's The Daily Star reported on its website that one of the French peacekeepers was said to be in critical condition.

"I condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack that was carried out against UNIFIL this morning, wounding five French peacekeepers and a civilian," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in a statement following the attack, the third against UNIFIL this year.

France is "determined to continue its involvement with UNIFIL [and] will not be intimidated by such vile acts," Juppe added.

The attack also drew swift condemnation from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Sleiman, who described the incident as a "terrorist attack". Sleiman added that the attack was intended to force UNIFIL to withdraw from Lebanon and obstruct its work as a peacekeeping force in the south, the Daily Star reported.

The members of the UN Security Council also condemned the attack 'in the strongest terms' and expressed their sympathy to the injured and their families. "The members of the Security Council called on all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect the safety of UNIFIL and other United Nations personnel, and to ensure that the freedom of movement of UNIFIL is fully respected, in conformity with its mandate and rules of engagement," the Council said in a statement.

Hezbollah also condemned the attack, saying it was intended to destabilize the security of the country.

In July, five French soldiers were wounded in a blast near the city of Sidon. Six Italian peacekeepers were wounded in another explosion in Sidon in May. The mission, which has been operating since 1978, currently has just over 12,000 peacekeepers from 35 countries.

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