The outgoing deputy commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was injured on Friday when protesters attacked a convoy transporting peacekeepers to Beirut airport, UNIFIL said in a statement.

“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,” the statement read.

Related News

According to UNIFIL, the injured officer, Maj. Gen. Chok Bahadur Dhakal from Nepal, was preparing to leave Lebanon after completing his mission when the convoy came under attack. Protesters violently targeted the vehicles, setting one on fire.

The Lebanese army intervened to disperse the demonstrators. Acting army commander Maj. Gen. Hassan Odeh assured UNIFIL that authorities would “work to arrest the citizens who attacked its members and bring them to justice.”

The protests erupted over a decision by Lebanese authorities to prevent a passenger plane from Iran from landing in Beirut on Thursday, leaving several Lebanese passengers stranded.

The ban followed an Israeli army statement alleging that Iran was using civilian flights to smuggle cash to Hezbollah. This led to speculation in Lebanon that the authorities had succumbed to Israeli pressure.

Lebanon’s civil aviation agency clarified that “additional security measures” had resulted in the temporary rescheduling of certain flights until February 18—the same day as the deadline for Israel and Hezbollah to fully implement the ceasefire agreement that ended their latest war in November. This includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.

Earlier on Friday, the U.S. representative on the ceasefire monitoring committee, Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, stated that “significant progress” had been made ahead of the deadline. However, his statement left some uncertainty regarding Israel’s full withdrawal, noting only that he was confident “all population centers in the Southern Litani Area” would be under Lebanese control by then.

Once Israeli troops withdraw from these areas, the Lebanese army and UNIFIL are responsible for ensuring that Hezbollah does not reestablish a military presence.

The original deadline for withdrawal was set for late January but was extended through mutual agreement. Lebanese officials have stated they will not approve another extension and firmly oppose an Israeli proposal to maintain its forces at five border locations after pulling out from other areas.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday that France had suggested strengthening UNIFIL’s presence, including deploying French forces, to replace Israeli troops at those border points. The monitoring committee overseeing the ceasefire consists of France, Lebanon, Israel, and UNIFIL.

UNIFIL was initially established to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. Its mandate was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to be stationed along the Israeli border to assist the Lebanese military in exerting control over the south for the first time in decades.

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon often accuse UNIFIL of working in coordination with Israel, while Israel has criticized the peacekeeping force for allegedly ignoring Hezbollah’s military activities in the south.

In December 2022, an Irish peacekeeper was killed when a UNIFIL convoy was attacked by a mob in a village outside its designated patrol area in southern Lebanon.

During the Israel-Hezbollah war, UNIFIL also reported multiple instances where Israeli military strikes targeted its facilities and peacekeepers, stating that some of these attacks were “clearly deliberate.”