UNIFIL post targeted by small arms fire near Kfar Shouba
UNIFIL says several rounds of small arms fire hit its position near Kfar Shouba on Wednesday, with no casualties reported.
A UNIFIL position near Kfar Shouba along the Blue Line in Sector East was hit by several rounds of small arms fire on Wednesday morning, the UN peacekeeping force said, with all peacekeepers taking shelter and no injuries reported (Al Jazeera; Dawn).
Most of the rounds struck the base’s perimeter wall, though some hit accommodation units and UN vehicles inside the compound, with several impacts recorded. In a statement, UNIFIL called continued firing toward a clearly marked position “unacceptable” and said “such deliberate attacks gravely endanger the lives of peacekeepers”. The force said it had launched an investigation, reminding all actors of their obligations under international law: any attack on UNIFIL peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and UNSCR 1701, and may amount to a war crime (TRT World).
UNIFIL did not identify who fired. Separately, L’Orient Today’s correspondent reported that the Israeli army fired toward Kfar Shuba from the Roueisat al-Alam position on Wednesday (L’Orient Today).
The incident comes as UNIFIL approaches the end of its mandate: the UN Security Council set 31 December as the mission’s end date, under US and Israeli pressure, and Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam last month pressed the UN to “avert the vacuum” of a withdrawal without a viable replacement. UNIFIL currently fields 7,500 blue helmets from around 50 countries (Al Jazeera).
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