India on Saturday condemned the attack on French UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, urging the Lebanese government to urgently investigate this attack and bring its perpetrators to justice.
A French soldier was killed and three others wounded while clearing a road in southern Lebanon in an attack that UN peacekeepers and French officials claimed was carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“We pay our homage to the fallen Blue Helmet and wish a speedy recovery to the three other peacekeepers who were injured,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The MEA also reiterated the importance of respecting the sanctity of UN premises and personnel and urged all parties to ensure the safety and security of UN peacekeepers.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unacceptable attack” in his conversations with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
UN peacekeepers said initial assessments indicated the fire came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that an investigation had been launched into what it called “a deliberate attack.”
The attack came days after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, following a sharp escalation in southern Lebanon triggered by Iran-backed Hezbollah launching rockets, missiles and drones toward northern Israel in response to joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
(With inputs from Reuters)
