SECRETARY-GENERAL SHOCKED BY COORDINATED ISRAELI ATTACK ON UNITED NATIONS
OBSERVER POST IN LEBANON, WHICH KILLED TWO PEACEKEEPERS
The following statement by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was issued today in Rome:
I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a United Nations
observer post in southern Lebanon that has killed two United Nations military observers, with two more feared dead.
This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked United Nations post at Khiyam
occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that United Nations positions would be
spared Israeli fire. Furthermore, General Alain Pelligrini, the United Nations Force Commander in south Lebanon, had
been in repeated contact with Israeli officers throughout the day on Tuesday, stressing the need to protect that
particular United Nations position from attack.
I call on the Government of Israel to conduct a full investigation into this very disturbing incident, and demand that
any further attack on United Nations positions and personnel must stop.
The names and nationalities of those killed are being withheld pending notification of their families. I extend sincere
condolences to the families of our fallen peacekeepers.
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