All Malbatt officers and personnel safe following incident in Lebanon


The video of the incident shows nearly 30 people throwing rocks at the two Malbatt vehicles.

KUALA LUMPUR: All Malaysian Battalion 850-11 (Malbatt 850-11) officers and personnel are safe following an incident involving a group of Lebanese citizens recently.

The Armed Forces said it was aware of a viral video clip showing a group of Lebanese citizens acting aggressively towards a Malbatt 850-11 convoy on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission.

"The incident occurred at 5.32pm Lebanese time and 11.32pm Malaysian time on Wednesday (Sept 18)," it said.

Two Fitted for Radio (FFR) vehicles were involved.

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It happened when both vehicles, transporting three officers and seven personnel, were heading back to Marakah camp after completing a force protection duty at the UNIFIL base in Shama camp.

When the convoy was going through the Tes Road-Burj Al Qibli in Tyre, an extraordinary traffic congestion occurred.

Members of the public were directing traffic, and there were many ambulances and fire trucks in both directions.

Suddenly, a group of citizens acted aggressively and tried to stop the Malbatt vehicles.

Close to 30 people then threw rocks and punctured all tyres of the vehicles using sharp weapons.

To prevent the situation from worsening, the convoy leader instructed both vehicles to stop at the side of the road, and all military personnel remained in the vehicles waiting for assistance.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) arrived on scene and managed to control the situation.

They also assisted in coordinating the use of loaders to bring back the vehicles and the Malbatt personnel to Marakah camp.

All personnel arrived safely at Marakah camp at about 1.39pm Malaysian time or 7.39pm Lebanese time.

"No injuries were sustained by any personnel or officers.

The Malbatt 850-11 team will continue to conduct their routine duties as mandated by UNIFIL.

We urge all parties not to raise speculations that could tarnish the image of the Defence Ministry, especially the Armed Forces," it said.

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