Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 7
The UN Security Council on Monday urged all parties to respect the safety and security of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Amid ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, the de factor border between Israel and Lebanon, “the members of the Security Council expressed their strong concerns after several (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) UNIFIL positions came under fire in the past days,” Pascale Baeriswyl, Switzerland’s UN ambassador, said after a meeting on Lebanon.
Reading the statement, Baeriswyl said the council members reiterated their support to UNIFIL, underscoring its role in supporting regional stability.
“They expressed as well their deep concern for civilian casualties and sufferings, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people. They called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law,” she added.
The members emphasized the need for diplomatic endeavors that would bring a durable end to the conflict and allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return safely to their homes, she stressed.
Last week, four UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured by Israeli army shelling on their posts in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL was established as interim force decades ago, in 1978, to help restore peace in the region and as a confirmation of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
Source: Anadolu Agency
