Visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon met the commander of the peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon yesterday and paid tribute to fallen soldiers.

Ban, who is on a three-day visit to Lebanon, travelled by helicopter to the town of Naqura, headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

He laid a wreath and observed a minute of silence at a memorial site for the 293 peacekeepers who have died in Lebanon since the creation of UNIFIL in 1978.

“Peace-keeping is always dangerous but it is especially deadly in Lebanon,” he said in a brief speech.

“More personnel have lost their lives serving in UNIFIL than in any other UN peacekeeping operation,” he added. “This weighs heavily on my heart.”

UNIFIL soldiers have been the target of three attacks in the past year that have prompted fears they could be linked to the deadly unrest in neighbouring Syria.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.