Three Indonesian Soldiers Fall in 24 Hours in Lebanon: Time to Withdraw Troops?
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that three of its peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon just hours apart in separate incidents. All three were soldiers from Indonesia.
The UN stated on Monday that an explosion of “unknown origin” destroyed a vehicle near the town of Bani Haiyyan, killing two Indonesian peacekeepers. Two other peacekeepers were injured, one seriously.
This occurred just hours after another peacekeeper was killed when a UNIFIL base was hit by a projectile near the village of Adchit al-Qusayr in southern Lebanon.
All three peacekeepers were from the Indonesian military, UN officials said. In the first attack, the fatality was Corporal Farizal Rhomadhon.
In the second attack, two soldiers from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Mechanised Battalion Task Force XXIII-S/UNIFIL were killed. According to information obtained by Republika, the two victims of the brutal Israeli military attack were Major Inf ZA and Sergeant I.
They were attempting to evacuate another injured TNI soldier at the time. However, during the convoy’s journey, it was attacked by Israeli Zionists.
UNIFIL stated that it has launched investigations into both incidents but did not specify who was responsible for the deaths on Sunday night to Monday.
The UN said on Monday that any deliberate attack on its peacekeeping forces constitutes a “grave violation” of international humanitarian law and UN Security Council Resolution 1701. That resolution was adopted in 2006 and includes assisting the Lebanese armed forces in clearing the area of “armed personnel, assets, and weapons.”
“This is just one of a number of recent incidents that endanger the safety [and] security of peacekeeping forces,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote in a post on X, calling for accountability.
In response to the first death, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the peacekeeper was an Indonesian national. Any loss of peacekeeping personnel is unacceptable, said Foreign Minister Sugiono. He also expressed condemnation over the “Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.”
Currently, more than 8,200 UN peacekeepers – known as Blue Helmets – from 47 countries are deployed in southern Lebanon, according to UNIFIL figures updated on 23 March.