UN chief calls for de-escalation in southern Lebanon

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday expressed his concerns over the deterioration of the security situation in southern Lebanon and called on all concerned to act to prevent any escalation of the tension.

Earlier in the day, a Hezbollah attack on an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed two IDF soldiers and injured several others. Then the IDF retaliated.

"The Secretary-General deeply regrets that a UN Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeeper sustained serious injuries that resulted in his death," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesperson.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) observed six rockets launched towards Israel from the vicinity of Wazzani, north of Maysat, in the UNIFIL area of operations, and then the Israeli Defense Forces returned artillery fire in the same general area, during which a UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain deployed at a UN position near Ghajar sustained serious injuries that resulted in his death.

The Hezbollah attack is seen as the retaliation for an Israeli air-strike on the Golan Heights earlier this month that killed six Hezbollah members.

On Jan. 18, an Israeli helicopter strike in the Syrian sector of the Golan Heights on a contingent of Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militia, which UN considered was in violation of a 1974 ceasefire.

Ban is also deeply concerned about violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria, said the statement.

On Tuesday, rockets were fired from the area of limitation on the Bravo side across the ceasefire line and the IDF responded with artillery fire and later an air strike, said the statement.

"The Secretary-General condemns all violence and calls on all concerned to exercise maximum calm and restraint, to refrain from any action that could undermine the stability of the area, and to act responsibly to prevent any escalation in an already tense regional environment," said the statement. Enditem