UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Israel’s shelling of a UN peacekeeping facility in Lebanon and stated the obligation of the parties to the conflict to protect UN peacekeepers.
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Guterres stated this at a press conference in the capital of Laos, Vientiane, after the end of leadership events of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the dialogue partners of the regional bloc, one of which was the ASEAN-UN summit held on Friday.
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“We had the opportunity to mention this fact during our summit with ASEAN. The two soldiers who were wounded are Indonesians, they are from ASEAN,” the UN Secretary General said, answering a question from journalists about the shelling of a UN facility in Lebanon.
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“I condemn the fact that a UN facility was shelled and two peacekeepers were wounded, which is a violation of international law. Peacekeepers must be protected by all parties to the conflict. What happened certainly deserves condemnation,” Guterres said.
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“Naturally, there was a reaction from many sides, solidarity with the wounded peacekeepers, and it was made very clear to Israel that this incident was intolerable and should not be repeated,” he added.
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Earlier on Thursday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported Israeli military shelling of its main headquarters and strongholds. According to peacekeepers, two soldiers were injured due to Israeli tank shelling of an observation post.
