India on Friday condemned the attack on members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which resulted in the death of a Serbian peacekeeper, and called for a comprehensive investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure full accountability.
UNIFIL forces and Serbian authorities announced on Thursday that a Serbian peacekeeper died following the bombing of a United Nations base near Marjayoun. Two other peacekeepers were injured and are receiving treatment at a UNIFIL facility. UNIFIL officials said that the base was bombed during an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah forces.
“We condemned this attack in particular on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in which a soldier from Serbia was killed,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at a regular press conference. Also earlier, we took a similar position – we condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers deployed in UNIFIL.”
India is among the largest troop contributors to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, whose personnel have been repeatedly targeted in the backdrop of the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon.
Earlier, India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York issued a statement condemning the attack on peacekeepers deployed in UNIFIL and praising the fallen Serbian peacekeeper.
“India stresses the fundamental importance of respecting the sanctity and inviolability of UN premises and personnel. We call on all parties to ensure the safety and security of UN peacekeeping forces, operating under UN Security Council mandates,” the statement said.
Besides calling for full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2589 on “Accountability for crimes committed against peacekeepers”, the Indian side sought an “immediate and comprehensive investigation” into the attack to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure full accountability.
Military activities resumed in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah rejected a conditional ceasefire proposal. The death of the Serbian peacekeeper brings the total number of UNIFIL personnel killed during hostilities since March to seven.
