JAKARTA (Bernama): Indonesia has urged that a meeting of troop-contributing countries to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) be convened without delay, following the latest blast that injured three more Indonesian peacekeepers.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry, in expressing its grave concerns over the incident, said the meeting is necessary to review the situation and strengthen force protection measures.
The ministry noted that the latest explosion that occurred on April 3 in El Addaiseh, southern Lebanon, marked the third serious incident involving Indonesian peacekeepers in UNIFIL within the past week.
"Repeated attacks or incidents like this are not acceptable.
"Regardless of their immediate cause, they underscore the urgent need to strengthen the protection of UN peacekeepers in an increasingly dangerous environment,” the ministry said in a statement Saturday.
In earlier incidents on March 29 and 30, three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed and five others injured.
The fallen soldiers were identified as Captain Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, First Sergeant Muhammad Nur Ichwan, and Private First Class Farizal Rhomadhon.
Private First Class Rico Pramudia was reported to have sustained serious injuries, and four others - First Lieutenant (Inf) Sulthan Wirdean Maulana, Private First Class Deni Rianto, Private First Class Bayu Prakoso and Private First Class Arif Kurniawan - suffered minor injuries.
Indonesia called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to immediately investigate all incidents and further stressed the need for a thorough and transparent investigation to establish the facts, including the circumstances and those responsible, and stresses that full accountability must follow.
The ministry noted that the incident occurred amid Israel’s ongoing incursion into Lebanon.
"Israel’s continuing military operations in southern Lebanon, including stated intentions to maintain a presence, risk further destabilising the situation and placing United Nations peacekeepers in sustained danger,” it said.
Reaffirming its position, Indonesia stressed that the safety of UN peacekeepers is non-negotiable and any harm to peacekeepers constitutes a serious violation of international law and must not go unanswered.
-- BERNAMA
