Argentina becomes first nation to withdraw troops from UNIFIL
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Argentina is now the first UNIFIL donor country to withdraw its personnel from the peacekeeping mission following repeated Israeli attacks on peacekeeping forces.
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A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy drives through the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
Argentina has withdrawn four of its soldiers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.
"Argentina has withdrawn, I believe, four officers from UNIFIL’s observer group in Lebanon," Lacroix stated during a briefing on Tuesday.
"It's the prerogative of any member state to make that decision," he added.
This marks Argentina as the first UNIFIL donor country to withdraw its personnel from the peacekeeping mission following repeated Israeli attacks on UN forces, and an increase in confrontations between the Resistance and Israeli forces.
Tasked since 1978 with monitoring the Blue Line along the border, UNIFIL has more than 9,300 troops.
The United Nations has reported that UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon have repeatedly come under Israeli fire during the ongoing confrontations.
UNIFIL personnel come under fire
On Tuesday, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti condemned "numerous hits" on the force's personnel and bases in more than a year of hostilities, which he said had wounded "more than 20 peacekeepers."
In mid-November, the UN Security Council condemned recent attacks on the UNIFIL, calling on all parties to respect the safety of members of that force.
In a statement, the Council condemned the attacks on October 29, November 7, and November 8, which wounded several Blue Helmets.
The Security Council "recalled that peacekeepers must never be the target of an attack" and offered its "full support" to UNIFIL.
'Israel' targeting UNIFIL positions
The UN peacekeepers had earlier accused the Israeli occupation military of damaging one of their South Lebanon positions in a "deliberate and direct" action against their forces.
The incident is like "seven other similar incidents" carried out by the Israeli military, UNIFIL pointed out in a statement.
It "is not a matter of peacekeepers getting caught in the crossfire, but of deliberate and direct actions by the" Israeli military, it said.
"Despite the unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels, peacekeepers will continue to undertake our mandated monitoring and reporting tasks," UNIFIL underlined.
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly called for the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon to vacate from certain areas close to the "Blue Line", claiming that it was "completely false" that Israeli forces targeted UNIFIL.
Last month, a UNIFIL spokesperson said the force had recorded more than 30 incidents in October resulting in property damage or injury to peacekeepers.
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