The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has on Thursday repudiated the death of a Serbian 'blue helmet' of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who died after an attack on a contingent position near the Lebanese town of Marjayoun, in the south of the country. Likewise, he has demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice for what he has described as a possible war crime.
The former Portuguese diplomat has lamented the death of Sergeant Milovan Jovanovic, who was hit in a mortar attack on the UNIFIL base "in the eastern sector of (its) operations" in southern Lebanon. In a statement, he has conveyed his "sincerest condolences" to the relatives of the soldier, as well as to the authorities and the people of Serbia.
The attack also caused two injuries, two Spanish 'blue helmets' who are being treated at a UNIFIL medical center, to whom Guterres has wished a "speedy and complete" recovery.
The UN Secretary-General has stressed that, with Jovanovic's death, seven UNIFIL members have now died since March 2, the date on which the Israeli army and the Shiite party-militia Hezbollah resumed their clashes after the offensive by Israel and the United States against Iran. In this context, he has insisted that attacks against peacekeepers "must cease."
"They constitute serious violations of International Humanitarian Law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), and may constitute war crimes," he warned, calling for all aggressions against UNIFIL personnel to be investigated "without delay." "Those responsible must be prosecuted and effectively held accountable," he stressed.
Guterres has reminded "all parties" that they are obliged, under International Law, to guarantee "at all times the security of United Nations personnel and the inviolability of the Organization's property and assets." Furthermore, he has urged them "once again to respect the cessation of hostilities" agreed in mid-April.
The incident, from which the Israeli Army has disassociated itself, occurred a few hours before the delegations from Lebanon and Israel agreed to implement a ceasefire conditioned on the total end of attacks by the Lebanese group and the withdrawal of all its members from the area south of the Litani River, after concluding this Wednesday in Washington a new round of talks sponsored by the United States, which began the previous day.