A United Nations peacekeeper, Milovan Jovanovic, has died during a weaponry clash between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Jovanovic died after being caught in a mortar shells struck a UNIFIL base amid ongoing clashes between the two oppositions, two other peacekeepers suffering severe injuries in the incident.
The mishap was said to be sequel to an initial six death roll of UNIFIL personnel killed since hostilities reignited in March between the two bodies after peacekeepers, drawn from nearly 50 countries were deployed along the Blue Line, the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, where fighting has intensified in recent weeks.
Jovanovic was said to be initially injured gruesomely after which he was given an emergency care at the base before being airlifted to the University Medical Centre in Beirut, where he later died, as disclosed by the Serbia’s defence ministry.
UNIFIL on Thursday, noted an increasingly high number of projectiles impacting southern Lebanon, adding that oevious attacks since March have killed Indonesian and French peacekeepers, with investigations attributing responsibility to both Israeli forces and Hezbollah, though the latter has denied involvement.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, recently stated that peacekeepers would still be needed in Lebanon after UNIFIL’s mandate expires at year’s end, though the proposal faces opposition from the United States and Israel.