Serbian peacekeeper killed in mortar shelling near Marjayoun

BEIRUT — A United Nations peacekeeper with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) died early Thursday from wounds sustained when mortar shells struck the position where he was deployed near Marjayoun, the U.N. force said. Serbia identified the victim as a Serbian national.

According to a UNIFIL statement, mortar shells hit the position late Wednesday night in an area where Hezbollah and the Israeli military continue to clash. The force did not say who was responsible.

A security source told AFP the shells struck a UNIFIL position in Ibl al-Saqi, a village north of Khiam and south of Debbine, an area where Israeli forces have taken control and are seeking to expand their presence.

The Serbian Defense Ministry said Sgt. Maj. Milovan Jovanovic, born in 1989, died “as a result of injuries caused by the impact of a missile on the U.N. base.” He received emergency medical care at a hospital inside the base after being wounded, then was transported by helicopter to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where he died around 4 a.m. local time, the ministry said.

Two other peacekeepers wounded in the same incident are being treated at a medical facility inside the UNIFIL base, the force said.

UNIFIL said it has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the attack. “UNIFIL has detected an increasingly high number of trajectories and impacts in South Lebanon. The violence must end,” it said.

"We reiterate our call on all actors to uphold their obligations under international law and to ensure the safety and security of U.N. personnel and property at all times, including by refraining from actions that may put peacekeepers in danger," the statement added. “Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and of Security Council Resolution 1701, and may amount to war crimes.”

Since the war resumed on March 2, seven peacekeepers have been killed, including four Indonesians and two French nationals.