Beirut [Lebanon], April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned an explosion in Lebanon in which three UN observers and a Lebanese language assistant were injured.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is investigating the incident, the Secretary-General's spokesman announced on Saturday in New York.
The security of the peacekeeping mission must be guaranteed at all times, Guterres said. Such attacks are also a serious threat to the security and stability of Lebanon, Israel and the region he said.
According to UNIFIL, the group had been on foot patrol along the Blue Line - the border with Israel - on Saturday morning when the explosion occurred. The Lebanese news agency NNA had reported that a UNIFIL vehicle had been attacked by a drone. According to the report, three blue helmet soldiers and a translator were injured. The UNIFIL force had been travelling near the town of Rmeish, close to the border with Israel.
Lebanese reports attributed the blast to Israeli military action, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied this.
Cross-border military action has become an almost daily event since the Gaza War erupted late last year. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia active in the region said it had conducted attacks on Israel on Saturday.
Source: Qatar Tribune