Lebanon Guterres calls for a stop to attacks on UN blue helmets
Following the death of a French soldier from the UN mission Unifil in Lebanon, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for a stop to attacks on blue helmet soldiers. "All actors are urged to respect the cessation of hostilities and to cease fire," said Guterres in New York, according to a statement from his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. Such attacks constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and could amount to war crimes.
19.04.2026, 09:59
SDA
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the death of the soldier on Saturday and announced that three other comrades had been wounded. He also wrote on Platform X that everything pointed to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia being responsible for the attack. Unifil shares Macron's assessment, Dujarric added. Hezbollah, however, denied any responsibility for the incident. US President Donald Trump announced a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and the militia on Thursday - although Hezbollah was not involved in the talks.
This is the third incident in recent weeks that has led to the death of blue helmets serving with Unifil, said Guterres' spokesperson. At the end of March, three Indonesian blue helmet soldiers were killed in attacks. Unifil has been monitoring the border area between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. There have been repeated deaths and injuries in its ranks.
