2 Ghanaian soldiers fighting for life following direct hit on UN compound in Lebanon

Two Ghanaian soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon have sustained critical injuries after their battalion headquarters was struck by missiles amid escalating exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The Ghana Armed Forces confirmed in an official statement on Friday that the Ghanaian Battalion Headquarters in UNIFIL came under two separate missile attacks within a seven-minute window on the evening of March 6. 

The strikes occurred between 5:45pm and 5:52pm local time, leaving two peacekeepers critically wounded and a third colleague traumatised by the incident.

According to the military’s Department of Public Relations, the attack also inflicted substantial damage on the camp’s infrastructure, with the Officers’ Mess facility taking a direct hit and being completely consumed by fire. The injured personnel are currently receiving treatment at the base’s Level One Medical Bunker, where they remain in stable condition as preparations proceed for their evacuation to the UNIFIL Headquarters Referral Hospital.

The Armed Forces moved swiftly to reassure the Ghanaian public, emphasising that the remaining troops had sought refuge in underground bunkers and were safe despite the fragility of the security situation. The statement urged citizens to remain calm while acknowledging the volatility of conditions on the ground.

In a parallel diplomatic development, the Government of Ghana has lodged a formal protest at the United Nations headquarters in New York through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Accra has called upon all parties embroiled in the conflict within UNIFIL’s area of operations to remain conscious of their obligations concerning the protection of peacekeeping personnel.

The missile strike represents one of the most serious direct attacks on Ghanaian peacekeepers in recent years and underscores the deteriorating security environment along the Blue Line separating Lebanese and Israeli forces.

Ghana maintains a substantial peacekeeping presence in the region as one of the longest-standing contributors to UNIFIL, which was established to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and maintain international peace and security in the volatile border region.

The incident threatens to further inflame tensions in an area already characterised by fragile ceasefires and intermittent hostilities between the Israel Defense Forces and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Source: graphic.com.gh