UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations remains seriously concerned about incidents of aggressive behavior against UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers in the past couple of days, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said Monday.
"All acts that endanger the peacekeepers must stop. All actors must adhere to their obligations to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers at all times," Lacroix told a daily briefing.
"The inviolability of United Nations installations must be respected," he said.
Lacroix said that on Monday morning, two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in an explosion that hit a UNIFIL logistics convoy near Bani Hayyan in southern Lebanon, and two others were injured. On Sunday, a peacekeeper from the Indonesian contingent was killed in an explosion inside a UNIFIL base in Ett-Taibe in the southern part of the country, and another peacekeeper was critically wounded.
"We strongly condemn these unacceptable incidents. Peacekeepers must never be a target," said Lacroix, adding that UNIFIL is investigating the incidents to determine the circumstances of these developments.
Despite these incidents, UN peacekeepers remain on the ground, carrying out Security Council-mandated tasks and demonstrating "utmost courage and commitment to advancing international peace and security far away from home," he said.
"Only the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) by both parties will enable a long-term solution to the conflict," Lacroix said, reiterating UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appeal to all sides to cease the fighting. ■
