Lebanon Residents Wound UN Peacekeeper, Block Convoy twice

UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Lebanon Residents Wound UN Peacekeeper, Block Convoy twice

UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
UN peacekeeper gestures to his colleague during a Reuters' visit to Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

A UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon was hurt when a group of young men attacked a patrol and tried to stop it from moving through their village, the UN mission said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday night when residents of the village of Taybeh briefly blocked the peacekeepers' patrol travelling through the area, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.

The man wounded was an Indonesian soldier, a security source said. A vehicle was damaged, UNIFIL said.

It called on Lebanese authorities to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Such attacks “are not only condemnable, but they are violations of Resolution 1701 and Lebanese law,” UNIFIL said on X, formerly known as Twitter, referring to a UN Security Council resolution that ended a monthlong 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

In a second incident on Thursday morning, a peacekeepers' convoy travelling to UNIFIL's eastern headquarters through the border village of Kfar Kila was briefly blocked by residents, who let them go ahead after a brief discussion, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said.

A Lebanese security source said a group of men had hit the UNIFIL vehicles with sticks and rocks.

The reason for the actions was not clear but in previous incidents, local people have objected to UNIFIL peacekeepers driving military vehicles through residential areas.

The area has been particularly tense since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that triggered the war.

Israel shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that had crossed into its territory from Lebanon on Thursday, the military said. Air raid sirens had sounded in northern Israel and there were no immediate reports of casualties.



Iran Strengthens its Militias in Syria

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran Strengthens its Militias in Syria

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran has increased its diplomatic and military efforts in Syria in response to Israeli escalation and threats to cut off the Tehran-Damascus corridor.

This includes strengthening Iranian-backed militias, which have stepped up attacks on US-led coalition bases and the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

These groups are also fighting ISIS in the Syrian desert.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that Iran-backed groups launched 89 attacks on US bases in Syria in 2024, using drones and rockets from both Syria and Iraq.

In turn, US forces have upgraded their base defenses, including air defense systems, to intercept drones before they reach their targets.

At the same time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is expanding its training camps for militias, especially the Iraqi Harakat al-Nujaba, in Syria’s southeastern Homs desert.

Reinforcements from the Zainabiyoun and Fatemiyoun brigades, totaling about 225 fighters, recently arrived in the eastern Deir Ezzor province through the al-Hari border crossing. The fighters are stationed in Al-Boukamal and Mayadeen under IRGC command.

Local sources said Iran is working to strengthen its military presence in the region.

On Monday evening, ISIS launched an attack on Iranian-backed militias in the desert near Tadmur, east of Homs.

Syria's Al-Watan newspaper reported that on Monday, government forces and allied troops fought fierce battles with ISIS cells in the eastern Homs desert.

A military source said the clashes killed several ISIS fighters and destroyed their vehicles, which were armed with heavy machine guns.

The militants had attempted to cross from areas controlled by US forces in the 55-kilometer zone to target military positions near the town of al-Taybah in eastern Homs.