Star Metro - UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions

The Israeli military said its forces on Friday fired at a threat near a UN peacekeeping mission position.

Israel and Hezbollah have been clashing in south Lebanon since last week when Israel announced "targeted" incursions into Lebanon against the Lebanese militant group, which is backed by Iran.

Friday's incidents came after peacekeeping mission UNIFIL said its positions had been "repeatedly hit" and two Indonesian Blue Helmets were injured on Thursday, sparking a wave of international condemnation.

On Friday morning, "UNIFIL's Naqura headquarters was affected by explosions for the second time in the last 48 hours. Two peacekeepers were injured after two explosions occurred close to an observation tower," the peacekeeping mission said.

A UNIFIL spokeswoman said they were Sri Lankan.

The Israeli military said "soldiers operating in southern Lebanon identified an immediate threat against them. The soldiers responded with fire toward the threat."

"An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a UNIFIL post, located approximately 50 meters (yards) from the source of the threat, resulting in the injury of two UNIFIL personnel," it added.

UNIFIL said that, also on Friday, several blast walls "at our UN position 1-31, near the Blue Line in Labbouneh, fell when an IDF Caterpillar hit the perimeter and IDF tanks moved in the proximity of the UN position."

"These incidents put again UN peacekeepers, who are serving in south Lebanon at the request of the Security Council under resolution 1701 (2006), at very serious risks," it said.

Earlier, Lebanon's foreign ministry said the Israeli army targeted "watchtowers and the main UNIFIL base in... Naqura, and on the Sri Lankan battalion's base, which led to a number of wounded".

Lebanon's official National News Agency said an Israeli "Merkava tank targeted one of the UNIFIL towers on the main road linking Tyre and Naqura", wounding the Sri Lankan personnel.

Hezbollah said on Friday it fired rockets at Israeli troops in the Ras Naqura area, a little further south.

- Call for UN inquiry -

In the earlier incident, on Thursday, UNIFIL said an Israeli tank fired towards a watchtower at the mission's Naqura headquarters, hitting it and causing two peacekeepers to fall, with injuries.

The incident sparked condemnation from members of the mission including Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and China.

On Thursday, Israel's military said its forces had opened fire in the area of the UN base, after telling the peacekeepers to stay protected, as Hezbollah fighters were operating in the area.

Human Rights Watch on Friday called for a UN inquiry "on Israeli attacks on peacekeepers" in Lebanon.

"Any targeting of UN peacekeepers by Israeli forces violates the laws of war and dangerously interferes with UNIFIL's civilian protection and aid work," HRW's Lama Fakih said.

UNIFIL said Israel on Thursday also hit "the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering" in Labbouneh, "damaging vehicles and a communications system".

The mission added that an Israeli military drone "was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance."

UNIFIL, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon, has called for a ceasefire since an escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on September 23, after a year of cross-border fire.

Israel has pounded what it says are Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in the past two weeks, killing more than 1,200 and displacing more than a million, according to official figures.

S.Cloutier--SMC