UN peacekeepers from Ghana wounded in south Lebanon attack

Three UN peacekeepers were wounded when their base in southern Lebanon was hit on Friday, the UN force and the Ghanaian military said, with Lebanon’s president accusing Israel of targeting them.

The attack came as Israel and Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah exchanged fire after the Middle East war expanded into the country on Monday.

“Amidst heavy firing this evening, three peacekeepers were injured inside their base in… Qawzah” in southern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.

“The most severely injured has been transferred to hospital in Beirut for treatment.”

Ghana’s military said that its UNIFIL battalion headquarters came under “two missile attacks”, adding that “two soldiers are critically injured, while one other has been traumatised”.

“The officers’ mess facility also got hit and has been burnt down completely.”

Neither UNIFIL or the Ghanaian army specified the source of the attack, but the international force said it will investigate the circumstances of the incident.

“It is unacceptable that peacekeepers performing (UN) Security Council-mandated tasks are targeted,” it added.

In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned “Israeli attacks on Lebanon”, adding that they had “even reached the point of a direct assault on UNIFIL”.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unacceptable attack” on UNIFIL after speaking with his Lebanese and Syrian counterparts.

“France is working with its partners to prevent the conflict from spreading further in the region,” Macron said on X, highlighting the “key stabilising role” played by the UN force.

UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades and was assisting the Lebanese army while it was dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border after the last war opposing the Iran-backed group and Israel in 2024.

It plans to withdraw all troops from Lebanon by mid-2027.

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