عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Lebanon Files Complaint with UN after Soldier Killed in Israeli Shelling

A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)
A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)
TT
TT

Lebanon Files Complaint with UN after Soldier Killed in Israeli Shelling

A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)
A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)

Lebanese Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has asked Lebanon’s mission to the United Nations to submit a complaint to the Security Council after an Israeli strike killed a Lebanese soldier.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday it was reviewing a strike that “harmed” troops in south Lebanon, an apparent reference to Israeli shelling that killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded three others the previous day.

The Lebanese troops “were not the target of the strike,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

It expressed “regret over the incident,” saying “the incident is under review.”

The Lebanese army said the soldier, a sergeant, was killed when an army position was shelled by Israel on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said its soldiers had acted in "self defense to eliminate an imminent threat that had been identified from Lebanon" from a "known launch area and observation point" used by Hezbollah.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon UNIFIL noted in a statement on Tuesday it was the first Lebanese army soldier killed during the hostilities, and that the Lebanese army had not engaged in conflict with Israel.

France on Wednesday condemned the shelling, a spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said.
"France is gravely concerned by the ongoing clashes on the border between Lebanon and Israel. France condemns the Israeli strike which cost the life of a member of the Lebanese armed forces, and sends its sincere condolences to the victim's relatives," said the ministry spokesperson in a daily briefing.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
TT
TT

Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.