Secretary-General Condemns Incident in Southern Lebanon Injuring Peacekeepers, Urges De-Escalation

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General condemns the incident on Friday, 6 March, which resulted in three Ghanaian peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) being injured inside their position in Al Qawzah, south-western Lebanon, amidst heavy firing. He wishes a swift and full recovery to the injured peacekeepers.

The Secretary-General underscores that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be respected at all times, and that those responsible must be held accountable. The inviolability of UN installations must be respected by all.

The United Nations urges the parties to de-escalate immediately and fully adhere to their obligations under Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).