More than 25 arrested after UN convoy attack in Lebanon

Al Jazeera:

More than 25 people were arrested following an attack on a convoy of United Nations peacekeepers that wounded two people including a senior commander.

“More than 25 people have been arrested by Lebanese army intelligence”, with another person detained by the security services, Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar told reporters after an emergency security meeting on Saturday.

“This does not mean these detainees carried out the attack … but the investigations will show who is responsible,” he added.

Major-General Chok Bahadur Dhakal was on his way to leave the country for Nepal on Friday night after completing his mission when the UNIFIL convoy taking peacekeepers to the airport was attacked by protesters.

The Lebanese army intervened but not before the UN peacekeepers sustained injuries. The second injured peacekeeper was not identified.

UNIFIL said in a statement that attacks on peacekeepers were a “flagrant” violation of international law and “may amount to war crimes”.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun on Saturday condemned the attack, saying security forces will not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilise the country. Aoun “emphasised that the attackers will receive their punishment”, a statement from the presidency said on X.