EU calls for 'full accountability' after another UNIFIL peacekeeper killed in Lebanon
The European Union's foreign policy chief has called for "full accountability" after another UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon.
Following the death of a Serbian peacekeeper serving in Lebanon last week, Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Sunday condemned the incident, warning against the escalation of violence in Lebanon.
"The killing of peacekeepers is a violation of international law and must be met with full accountability," Kallas said in the statement, urging the fighting sides to fully abide by the terms of a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.
Kallas reaffirmed the bloc's full support for UNIFIL and its mandate, demanding the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, calling for the respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The EU, the statement added, "strongly condemns all attacks against its personnel, including the killing of another UNIFIL soldier in the attacks of 4 June, the seventh peacekeeper to have died since March, and extends its deep condolences to his family."
The UNIFIL announced that a Serbian soldier died on Thursday after a mortar was fired on his position near Marjayoun in Lebanon's southeast.
Amid the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, there is growing pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah. The Israeli regime has increasingly attacked the peacekeeping force for not countering Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the UN urged "maximum restraint" as peacekeepers in Lebanon continued to observe intense military activity by the Israeli forces in southern Lebanon despite efforts to de-escalate the tensions.
"Despite ongoing de-escalation efforts, our UNIFIL colleagues in the south continue to observe intense air activity and exchange of fire across the Blue Line and within UNIFIL's own area of operations, as stressed during the Emergency Security Council session yesterday," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.
"We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and fully adhere to the cessation of hostilities that was agreed to," he said.
The UN spokesman pointed out that UNIFIL peacekeepers had recorded hundreds of ceasefire violations, almost all of them by Israeli forces.
The Israeli airstrikes and direct attacks on Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of 3,593 Lebanese people, while thousands more have been injured since March 2.
The UNIFIL, with about 10,990 troops from some 50 countries, was first established in 1978 to oversee the Israeli forces' withdrawal from the Lebanese territories.
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