Paris, France (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned an "unacceptable attack" on UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, after speaking with his Lebanese and Syrian counterparts.
"France is working with its partners to prevent the conflict from spreading further in the region," Macron said on X, highlighting the "key stabilising role" played by the United Nations Interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and Lebanon, as for every country in the region, must be respected," he said.
Macron also said France would remain "engaged" in UNIFIL, which includes around 700 French troops.
Three UN peacekeepers from Ghana were critically wounded in the missile attack on their position in the town of Qawzah, according to Lebanese state media and the Ghanaian military.
The attack came as Israel and Iran's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah exchanged fire after the Middle East war expanded into the country on Monday.
"Amidst heavy firing this evening, three peacekeepers were injured inside their base in... Qawzah" in southern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.
"The most severely injured has been transferred to hospital in Beirut for treatment."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of targeting them, as the war unleashed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran last Saturday engulfed Lebanon.
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Ghana's military said that its UNIFIL battalion headquarters came under "two missile attacks", adding that "two soldiers are critically injured, while one other has been traumatised".
"The officers' mess facility also got hit and has been burnt down completely."
Neither UNIFIL or the Ghanaian army specified the source of the attack, but the international force said it will investigate the circumstances of the incident.
"It is unacceptable that peacekeepers performing (UN) Security Council-mandated tasks are targeted," it added.
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UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades and was assisting the Lebanese army while it was dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border after the last war opposing the Iran-backed group and Israel in 2024.
The peacekeeping mission plans to withdraw all troops from Lebanon by mid-2027.
(AFP)
