UN peacekeeper in Lebanon killed, prompting Annan to condemn rise in fighting along 'Blue Line'

A French United Nations peacekeeper was killed and a Swedish colleague injured Sunday while patrolling the line of withdrawal in southern Lebanon, prompting Secretary-General Kofi Annan today to deplore the rise in fighting between Israel and Hizbollah along the so-called Blue Line.

Mr. Annan was "deeply saddened" to learn of the French military observer's death and the injury to the Swede, and expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased, said a statement released by his spokesman.

The observers were hit by a barrage of Israel Defence Force (IDF) tank and machine gun fire that followed a Hizbollah roadside bomb attack on an IDF patrol on the Israeli side of the line in the Shaba'a farms. The Hizbollah action killed one IDF soldier and injured three others.

"The Secretary-General condemns the military escalation along the Blue Line [and] wishes to underscore both parties' responsibility to ensure the safety of UN personnel deployed in the region," the statement said.

"He urges Israel and Lebanon to exercise maximum restraint and not further jeopardize the relative quiet that has characterized the Blue Line for the past six months."