Security Council deplores attack on UN vehicle in south Lebanon

The Security Council today condemned the 8 January attack targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which wounded two peacekeepers and damaged their vehicle.

In a statement read to the press by Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi of Libya, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for January, the 15-member body “commended the determination and commitment of the Government of Lebanon to bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack.”

Two peacekeepers suffered minor injuries in the explosion, which occurred on the coastal highway at the northern entrance to the town of Saida. UNIFIL has launched an official investigation and is working in close cooperation with the Lebanese authorities.

The Council also strongly condemned the rocket attack launched against Israel on 8 January from Lebanon, which is currently being investigated by UNIFIL, enhanced as part of the arrangements that ended Israel’s war with Hizbollah in 2006.

Members of the Council “reiterated their call upon all parties concerned to respect the Blue Line in its entirety and to exercise utmost restraint,” the statement added.