Jakarta. Indonesia and France have called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting after two separate explosions killed three of Jakarta’s peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has suffered two days in a row of deadly attacks. Three Indonesian blue helmets had fallen amid heightened clashes between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Foreign Minister Sugiono had also spoken to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as Jakarta condemned what it called a "heinous attack".

“In this context, we called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting, and for a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation,” Sugiono said on Tuesday early morning, commenting on the call.

The council is the UN’s premier decision-making body that passes legally binding resolutions. This 15-strong group is in charge of maintaining peace. Its permanent members — the UK, the US, China, France, and Russia — hold a veto power that can prevent a resolution from passing. Washington has previously vetoed resolutions to support its ally Israel. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that Paris had condemned the shootings “in the strongest possible terms”.

“Following the extremely serious incidents suffered by the UNIFIL peacekeepers, I have requested the convening of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council,” Jean-Noël Barrot wrote in a social media post.

Several Indonesian personnel sustained injuries. The initial blast from a projectile that had dropped on a UNIFIL position on Sunday (March 29) killed one soldier and injured three others. One of these men was critically wounded.

The UN had confirmed the deaths of two other Indonesian peacekeepers the following day. An explosion had struck the UNIFIL logistics convoy, destroying their vehicle near Bani Hayyan. The strike of unknown origin had injured two other Indonesian blue helmets.

UN peacekeeping operations chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix recently told the press that probes into these attacks were underway.

“It is just too early to tell [the causes], but of course, we do investigate all these incidents. … This is a UN Security Council-mandated operation. We have a duty to stay,” Lacroix said.

In 1978, the council rolled out resolutions that led to the establishment of UNIFIL in a bid to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. The mission is expected to continue its operations until end-2026.

Neither the Indonesian Foreign Ministry nor the military has responded to a request for comments on whether there were plans for an early withdrawal of Jakarta's contingent. Indonesia had contributed 755 UNIFIL peacekeepers as of March 30.

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