Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Monday, October 14, that the country “strongly condemns recent attacks on the UNIFIL peacekeepers”.
With 6,119 personnel, Nepal was the top contributor to the United Nations’ peacekeeping force as of July 31 this year, according to data available on the website of United Nations Peacekeeping.
UNIFIL is a peacekeeping mission established by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in March 1978, days after Israel invaded Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera . It had more than 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 nations as of September 2 this year, with 876 from Nepal – the fourth highest after Indonesia, Italy and India.
The blue helmets have been deployed in South Lebanon, from the Litani River to the Blue Line which is a 120 km “border” drawn up by the UN in 2000 between Lebanon and Israel.
In a post on the social media platform X, the ministry also urged parties of the conflict to guarantee the safety and security of peacekeepers. “Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated,” the ministry tweeted.
Some peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israel targets Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL has accused the Israeli military of "deliberately" firing on its positions .
Earlier on Sunday, October 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on UN chief Antonio Guterres to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of "harm's way", saying Hezbollah was using them as "human shields", reported AFP. However, UNIFIL has refused to leave its positions.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday denounced as "completely unacceptable" a series of Israeli attacks that have injured the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
It came two days after 40 nations that contribute to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon “strongly condemned recent attacks” on the peacekeepers.
MoFA also posted the joint statement by 34 UNIFIL-contributing countries, including major contributors such as Indonesia and Italy, in which they have reaffirmed their full support for UNIFIL’s mission and activities.
“We consider UNIFIL’s role as particularly crucial in light of the escalating situation in the region,” the statement reads.
After almost a year of cross-border fire over the Gaza war, Israel on September 23 launched an intense air campaign mainly targeting Hezbollah's south and east Lebanon strongholds, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs, according to international media reports. The escalation has killed more than 1,300 people, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
(With inputs from Al Jazeera and AFP/RSS)