UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon were wounded late Friday night after Hezbollah supporters attacked a convoy carrying the outgoing deputy commander of UNIFIL. The perpetrators blocked Beirut’s airport road for a second consecutive day in protest over Lebanon’s refusal to allow Iranian planes to land.
Video footage showed Hezbollah supporters carrying flags and chanting sectarian slogans as they pulled UNIFIL troops from their vehicles and beat them.
“Attacks on peacekeepers are flagrant violations of international law and may amount to war crimes. We demand a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice,” the peacekeeping force added.
Lebanon’s army released a statement, vowing a firm response, and Lebanon’s prime minister told the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon that he had ordered security forces to arrest the perpetrators and refer them to the competent judiciary for due process.
This unrest comes after Lebanon halted an Iranian flight to Beirut earlier this week, following Israeli accusations that Iran was using civilian aircraft to smuggle money into Beirut to fund Hezbollah. In retaliation, Iran banned Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Iran on Friday. Iran stated it would not allow Lebanese flights to land until its own flights were permitted to land in Beirut.
As a result, dozens of Lebanese citizens who had been in Iran for a religious pilgrimage have been stranded for three days, unable to return on Mahan Air, the Iranian airline that had been scheduled to bring them back.
Source: Agencies
