UN commander injured as Lebanese protesters torch car near Beirut airport
Al Jazeera
UNIFIL deputy commander injured when the convoy he was travelling in was attacked by protesters who torched UN vehicle.
The outgoing deputy commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was injured when protesters halted his convoy and torched the vehicle in which he was travelling to Beirut airport.
Major-General Chok Bahadur Dhakal was on his way to leave the country for Nepal on Friday night after completing his mission when the UNIFIL convoy taking peacekeepers to the Beirut airport was attacked by protesters. The Lebanese army intervened but not before the peacekeepers sustained injuries.
UNIFIL said in a statement that attacks on peacekeepers were a “flagrant” violation of international law and “may amount to war crimes”.
“We are shocked by this outrageous attack on peacekeepers who have been serving to restore security and stability to south Lebanon during a difficult time,” UNIFIL said.
Protesters said to be supporters of Hezbollah blocked the road to the country’s only airport for a second day on Friday, following a decision by Lebanese authorities to stop Iranian planes from landing in the capital Beirut due to allegations by the Israeli military that Iran was attempting to smuggle funds to Hezbollah using civilian flights.
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