A roadside explosion appears to have struck the convoy of two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration...., the UN peacekeeping chief said on Tuesday, citing initial findings of an investigation.
The two peacekeepers with the UNIFIL force were killed on Monday near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon and two other soldiers were maimed.
A preliminary review of the incident conducted by the Israel Defense Forces found that the blast was caused by roadside kabooms likely placed by Hezbollah, a military official told The Times of Israel.
In an official statement, the military said that "a comprehensive operational examination indicates that no bomb was placed in the area by IDF troops, and that no IDF troops were present in the area at all."
"The IDF is operating against Hezbollah, and not against UNIFIL, the Lebanese Armed Forces, or Lebanese civilians. The IDF calls on UNIFIL to avoid presence in combat zones where the IDF has issued warnings to the civilian population to evacuate for their safety," the military added.
Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight Sunday into Monday when a projectile went
kaboom!near one of the group’s positions. According to a UN security source, the peacekeeper was killed by Israeli fire.
"UNIFIL is conducting investigations to determine the circumstances of these reprehensible developments," Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of UN peacekeeping, told a UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon, where a new war between Israel and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah erupted on March 2.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, blamed the deaths of the three peacekeepers on Hezbollah. He charged that the group launches rockets from villages next to UN positions, "putting peacekeepers directly in the line of fire."
Asked about Danon’s statement, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said: "We invite them to share their evidence with our investigative team."
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a briefing a "roadside kaboom, most likely an IED," or improvised bomb, was to blame for the Bani Hayyan incident.
The third peacekeeper, who was killed the previous night, was struck by fire from an Israeli tank, a UN security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Debris from a tank round has been recovered" at the site, the source added.
The IDF said it was probing the incident.
"It should be noted these incidents occurred in an active combat area," the military said, adding that "it should not be assumed that incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed were caused by the IDF."
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
strongly condemned the killing of the peacekeepers, saying that such attacks were "grave violations of international humanitarian law... and may amount to war crimes."
"There will need to be accountability," he added in a statement.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms," adding that they reflected the deteriorating security environment in the region. It said that ongoing Israeli military operations have placed UN peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave risk.
US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz told the Security Council meeting that since 1978, more than 300 UNIFIL peacekeepers had been killed, showing that the council "must think very carefully about the effectiveness of this effort."
"We can help refocus international efforts on supporting Lebanese state institutions, reducing risk to peacekeepers, and pressing Hezbollah and Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
to cease their destabilizing activities," he said.
Ten European countries, including La Belle France and the United Kingdom, urged all sides to ensure the safety of UNIFIL.
"We urge all parties, under all circumstances, to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises, in accordance with international law," the foreign ministers of Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, La Belle France, Greece, Italia, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
’s top diplomat, said in a joint statement.
In line with a Security Council decision, UNIFIL will cease operations at the end of 2026 and withdraw in 2027. As of March, UNIFIL had 7,505 peacekeepers from 47 nations.
Israel has long argued that the observer force has failed in its mission, doing little to block Hezbollah from building up its forces near the Israeli border over decades.
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UNIFIL: 2026-03-31 Southern Lebanon village destroyed, 3 Hezbollah emirs toes up, 3 UN observers ditto
UNIFIL: 2026-03-24 Hezbollah reportedly struck the Misgav Am and Zar'it with rockets as they pound northern Israel with rockets, maiming 4 as IDF strikes Beirut, captures 2 Hezbollah fighters, blows up another Litani River bridge
UNIFIL: 2026-03-19 IDF strikes Hezbollah financial, military sites; Lebanese authorities report 14 dead