Trapped in War Zone, SBY Urges UN to Halt UNIFIL Deployment in Lebanon
VIVA – Indonesia’s sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), has urged the United Nations (UN) to take decisive action by halting the UNIFIL deployment from the active battlefield raging in the area. SBY’s call comes in the wake of the deaths of three TNI soldiers during the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
“The UN in New York should immediately make a firm decision and take steps to halt the UNIFIL deployment or relocate their positions away from the currently burning battlefield,” SBY stated in a post on his official X account, @SBYudhoyono, on Sunday, 5 April 2026.
SBY explained that UN peacekeeping units, such as the current Garuda XXIII contingent serving in Lebanon, have a mandate for peacekeeping, not for combat missions (peacemaking), as outlined in Chapter VI of the UN Charter.
“Not Chapter VII, which has a mission ‘to enforce the peace’, meaning carrying out ‘harder’ tasks for ‘peacemaking’. They are stationed along the ‘blue line’ or in the ‘blue zone’, which is not a combat area or ‘war zone’,” he said.
According to SBY, the changing conflict situation has rendered the deployment area unsafe for peacekeeping forces. He noted that Indonesian troops, who should be positioned along the ‘blue line’ separating Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are now in an active war zone.
“In reality, the peacekeepers who were originally around the blue line are now in a war zone. It is even reported that Israeli forces have advanced up to 7 kilometres from the demarcation line,” SBY revealed. “This situation is certainly very dangerous for the peacekeepers, as they could become victims of the ongoing battles at any moment.”
On that basis, SBY stressed that the UN must promptly make a strategic decision for the safety of the peacekeeping forces. “The UN Security Council must convene immediately and issue a firm and clear resolution,” he emphasised.
On the other hand, SBY, who also served on a UN mission in Bosnia while holding the rank of Brigadier General TNI (1995-1996), supports President Prabowo Subianto’s steps to continue pressing the UN to conduct a serious, honest, and fair investigation into the deaths of the three TNI UNIFIL soldiers.