U.N. peacekeeper killed in Lebanon
A United Nations peacekeeper died Wednesday during an attempt to remove unexploded ordnance in southern Lebanon, according to a spokeswoman for U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon.
The incident happened near Aitaroun, according to UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane. She would not disclose the peacekeeper”s nationality.
"UNIFIL medical and explosive ordnance disposal teams were immediately dispatched to the location and an investigation is under way," she said.
There are about 15,000 UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon. The force was set up in 1978 after Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon, but more troops were added following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
Last week, the U.N. Security Council extended UNIFIL”s mandate for another year until August 2009.
Wednesday”s death is the first UNIFIL fatality since June, when a Spanish peacekeeper died in a road accident in southern Lebanon. Last year, a bomb attack hit a UNIFIL vehicle in June, killing six peacekeepers. A French peacekeeper with UNIFIL died a month later while clearing unexploded ordnance left over from the 2006 war.
While it is unclear what type of device killed the member of the explosive ordinance disposal team on Wednesday, the U.N. has warned that the area is still covered in cluster munitions from the 2006 conflict.
Last month, the head of the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center of South Lebanon said it had removed half of the cluster munitions which were dropped in southern Lebanon during the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.