The IDF destroys UNIFIL surveillance cameras, a deliberate act: "A laser was used."
The UN spokeswoman: "They were only filming the headquarters and the immediate vicinity; it was for our own safety. We're concerned; the violence is rising, but we're staying."(Unifil photo)
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Israeli troops have destroyed 17 surveillance cameras at the UN peacekeeping headquarters in southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours, in what appears to be a deliberate operation undermining the safety of UNIFIL personnel .
The destroyed cameras overlooked Minchy Street, near the headquarters of the United Nations mission in Naqoura , a coastal town in southern Lebanon where part of the Italian contingent is also stationed. They were apparently destroyed with what "appears to be some sort of laser," explained a UN security source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.
"These cameras," UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel explained in an official statement, "were positioned to cover only the immediate vicinity of our headquarters, in order to ensure the safety of the military and civilian peacekeeping personnel residing there."
UNIFIL expressed its "serious concern" to the IDF, announcing a "formal protest" against the actions of Israeli troops: "We remind them of their obligation to ensure the safety of UN personnel and to respect the inviolability of UN premises."
"Israeli soldiers," Ardiel explained, "are present in Naqoura and this week have carried out massive demolitions of buildings in the village." Since Thursday, the UN peacekeepers have witnessed the destruction of large areas of the city . "Not only have homes and businesses been razed to the ground, but the force of the explosions also damaged the UNIFIL headquarters," he specified.
In recent days , three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate explosions on Sunday and Monday , before another explosion hit a UNIFIL base.
However, "despite the high levels of violence perpetrated by Hezbollah and the IDF in our vicinity, UN peacekeepers remain in all positions in southern Lebanon and along the Blue Line," the spokesperson reports. UNIFIL is "determined," the statement reads, "to complete its mandate and ensure support for humanitarian access for the remaining civilians," and will continue to provide the UN Security Council with "impartial and situation-based" reports. This is a mission that the UN peacekeepers carry out and will continue to carry out with "courage and professionalism."
(Unioneonline/L)