UN force in southern Lebanon says peacekeeper killed

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of their peacekeepers was killed after a projectile hit one of their positions late Sunday. "A peacekeeper was tragically killed last night when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit Al Qusayr," said Monday's statement. "Another was critically injured." The UNIFIL statement said they did not know the origin of the projectile but had launched an investigation to find out. "No one should ever lose their life serving the cause of peace," it added. State media NNA reported earlier that the position hit belonged to the Indonesian battalion serving with UNIFIL. The town of Adchit al Qusayr lies near Lebanon's southern border with Israel, where Israeli forces have been battling Hezbollah fighters for nearly a month. The war in the Middle East spread to Lebanon in early March after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel. Their attack came after the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US-Israeli offensive. Israel has retaliated with wide-ranging airstrikes on Lebanon and Israeli forces are now advancing into numerous towns in southern Lebanon. Israeli officials say they intend to set up a security zone extending 30 kilometers from the Israeli border to protect those living in northern Israel. UNIFIL has reported that its positions have been hit more than once since the start of the latest fighting. On March 7, three Ghanaian soldiers were wounded by gunfire in a border town in southern Lebanon.

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