Indonesia receives bodies of peacekeepers killed in Lebanon
Indonesia has condemned the attacks as “unacceptable”, calling for a thorough investigation and stronger security guarantees for peacekeeping troops.
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JAKARTA: Indonesia received the bodies of three peacekeepers on Saturday (Apr 4) who were killed while on deployment in Lebanon and called for security guarantees for blue helmets a day after another three of its soldiers were injured.
The soldiers' coffins, draped in the Indonesian flag, arrived at the international airport and were carried into a hall on the shoulders of uniformed comrades for a ceremony attended by President Prabowo Subianto.
Family members of the men wept over the coffins, each fronted by a photograph of the dead soldier in a gold frame.
Prabowo saluted each portrait and held the hands of grieving loved ones, some weeping inconsolably.
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Another three Indonesian peacekeepers were injured in Lebanon on Friday, two seriously, officials said.
Foreign Minister Sugiono told reporters after Saturday's ceremony that Indonesia wanted a thorough United Nations (UN) investigation.
"This is a peacekeeping mission. Incidents such as this should not happen," the minister, who like many Indonesians has only one name, told reporters at the airport.
"There must be a security guarantee for peacekeeping soldiers," he added.
Peacekeeper Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, died when a projectile exploded on Mar 29 in southern Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war.
A UN security source told AFP on condition of anonymity Tuesday that fire from an Israeli tank was responsible for that attack.
A day later, two more Indonesian peacekeepers - 33-year-old Zulmi Aditya Iskandar and Muhammad Nur Ichwan, 26 - died after an explosion struck a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) logistics convoy, also in southern Lebanon.
"UNACCEPTABLE"
As Indonesia mourned its fallen soldiers, UNIFIL said three more peacekeepers were wounded in a blast at a UN facility near El Adeisse on Friday afternoon, and rushed to hospital.
The UN Information Centre in Jakarta said the "origin of the explosion" was unknown but identified the injured soldiers as Indonesian.
"Repeated attacks or incidents of this kind are unacceptable," the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The government urged the UN Security Council "to immediately convene a meeting of troop-contributing countries to UNIFIL to conduct a review and take measures to enhance the protection of personnel serving with UNIFIL".
The father of fallen soldier Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, said this week he was shocked that peacekeepers were losing their lives in the conflict.
"We were really sad and regretful, because this is a UN troop, a peacekeeping troop, not deployed for war," 60-year-old Iskandarudin told reporters at his house in West Java province.
The military has promised financial support for the bereaved families.
All three men are to be laid to rest on Sunday.
After the latest attack that injured three more soldiers, Armed Forces Commander General Agus Subiyanto ordered Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon to enter bunkers and refrain from activities outside.
The Indonesian National Armed Forces has said it will deploy more than 750 personnel to Lebanon next month as part of the scheduled UNIFIL peacekeeping troop rotation.
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