UN Chief Condemns Attack On Peacekeepers In Southern Lebanon

UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon on Friday condemned the attack on a UN convoy in Lebanon, in which reportedly two Italian peacekeepers and two Lebanese civilians were killed, and extended his sincere sympathies to the peacekeepers, their families, and the people and government of Italy.

With Friday's observance of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, the attack is "all the more deplorable," Ban said in a statement issued here by his spokesman.

The explosion targeted a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle in the south Lebanon port city of Sidon.

The UN is currently working closely with the Lebanese authorities to "fully and swiftly" investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice, Ban said.

"Peacekeeping is dangerous and difficult," the UN chief noted and paid tribute to the 120,000 peacekeepers currently working under the blue flag in the world's trouble spots.

Between January and April of this year 26 UN peacekeepers lost their lives.

Two Italian peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and two Lebanese civilians were killed in an explosion targeting a UNIFIL vehicle in the south Lebanon port city of Sidon on Friday, security source told Xinhua in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

At least five other Italian peacekeepers were wounded in the blast, the source added

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