UNIFIL: Peacekeepers under attack

“We are staying”, asserted the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on October 13, in the wake of the Israeli attack on the force’s premises in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL is the global body’s peacekeeping force patrolling southern Lebanon. Currently, the group has come under direct fire from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), which continues to expands its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Established in 1978 by the UN’s Security Council, UNIFIL was tasked with ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Tel Aviv invaded Beirut to push back the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). UNIFIL is also tasked with maintaining peace and security in the region and assisting the Lebanese government to regain authority in the area. The 9,532-strong troops monitor movement across the UN-mapped ‘Blue line’ spanning the 120 km border between Israel and Lebanon.

Drawing troops from 34 nations, Indonesia is UNIFIL’s biggest contributor supplying 1,215 personnel, followed by Italy (963), India (876), Nepal (858) and Ghana (857). Operating across 29 locations between the Litani River in the north and the Blue line in the south, UNIFIL has suffered 334 fatalities as of date. With a $500-million budget funded annually by the UN General Assembly, UNIFIL’s relevance is only growing as confrontations escalate.

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon again, leading to the PLO’s exit from the country. As the occupation prolonged, Hezbollah rose as a resistance force. Israel continued its occupation of parts of Southern Lebanon, which saw multiple clashes between Hezbollah and the IDF throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2000, Israel unilaterally withdrew troops from Lebanon, which led to UNIFIL troops being reconfigured and redeployed in the south. In 2006, Hezbollah conducted a cross-border raid in Israeli border towns, leading to a ground invasion by the IDF into Lebanon. The 34-day conflict ended after a UN-brokered ceasefire and with it, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded to monitor cessation of hostilities, support the Lebanese Army as Israeli troops withdrew, ensure humanitarian aid access, return of displaced persons, keep UNIFIL’s operational area free of troops, weapons and assets other than its own and Lebanon’s. The peacekeeping force was also tasked with assisting the Lebanese Army in securing and controlling its borders. This has not been possible as southern Lebanon is currently under Hezbollah’s control.

Escalation in Lebanon

The IDF dramatically escalated the war against Hezbollah in September, with the killing of its chief, Hassan Nasrallah, and several other top level commanders.

Caught between the IDF and Hezbollah, UNIFIL first came under fire on October 10, when the IDF fired at three positions of UNIFIL including its main base in Naqoura. A week earlier, UNIFIL had written to the IDF objecting to Israeli military vehicles and troops positioning themselves ‘in the immediate proximity’ to UN positions, ‘endangering the safety of UNIFIL personnel’.

On October 13, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate and forcibly entered a UNIFIL position, injuring five peacekeepers, damaging the premises and disrupting mission movements. The two tanks left after two hours and firing several rounds, emitting smoke and affecting civilian peacekeepers inside the UNIFIL building.

As UNIFIL accused the IDF of ‘deliberate breach and targetting peacekeepers’, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged UNIFIL to ‘temporarily get out of harm’s way’, as its presence was acting as a ‘human shield’ for Hezbollah.

UNIFIL’s spokesperson Andrea Tenenti reminded him that the mission was in Lebanon under a Security Council mandate and it involved parties’ obligation to ensure the safety of its troops. Backing UNIFIL, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The UN flag continues to fly”.

India, one of the contributing countries of UNIFIL, stated it takes safety of UN peacekeepers ‘very seriously’ and called for action to maintain troops’ safety, but stopped short of condemning the IDF. The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that no Indian troops have been deployed at the Blue Line.