Commission I Urges Comprehensive Evaluation of TNI Troop Deployment to Lebanon

Deputy Chairman of DPR Commission I Dave Laksono has emphasised that the government and TNI must immediately conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the deployment of troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping mission. This call for evaluation comes in the wake of an incident where two TNI soldiers were killed in an Israeli attack, just a day after another soldier, Private Farizal Romadhon, also lost his life. “I have continuously urged for a thorough evaluation and reassessment of our soldiers’ presence there,” Dave stated at the parliamentary complex on Tuesday (31/3). According to Dave, the TNI should have already carried out a rotation of soldier placements by May. Subsequently, he said, the TNI could reduce the number of troops or even alter the operational strategy to remain solely within base areas. “Whether that means gradually reducing their numbers, or changing operations to stay within the base, or whatever,” he remarked. However, he left the decision to TNI Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence. Nevertheless, Dave assessed that the safety of soldiers participating in the UN peacekeeping force or UNIFIL in Lebanon must be the top priority. “Now, if the war is still raging between Hezbollah and Israel and it is clearly not only endangering but has already killed our soldiers, there must be firmness from the UN itself, or also from TNI Headquarters,” he said. The three TNI soldiers were part of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and perished. In its statement, UNIFIL reported that the two TNI soldiers who died on Monday (30/3) were due to an explosion from an unknown source. Meanwhile, TNI soldier Private Farizal Romadhon was killed by a projectile explosion near an Indonesian post in the village of Adchit Al Qusayr on Sunday (29/3). In a statement on social media platform X, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) affirmed that this repeated heinous attack on UN peacekeeping forces is completely unacceptable. Indonesia stressed that this attack cannot be viewed as an isolated incident, but rather reflects the increasingly deteriorating security situation in southern Lebanon. “Indonesia continues to strongly condemn Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon, which have significantly increased the risks faced by UN peacekeepers and undermined the implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate as stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006),” stated Kemlu RI.