UN workers killed: Israel 'shocked' at blame
Sydney Morning Herald
AP, Reuters, AFP
An Israeli bomb destroyed a UN observer post on the border in southern Lebanon, killing two peacekeepers with two others feared dead under the rubble.
UN chief Kofi Annan said Israel appeared to have struck the site deliberately.
Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman expressed his "deep regret" for the deaths and denied Israel hit the post intentionally.
"I am shocked and deeply distressed by the hasty statement of the secretary general, insinuating that Israel has deliberately targeted the UN post," he said, calling the assertions "premature and erroneous".
The bomb made a direct hit on the building and shelter of the observer post in the town of Khiyam near the eastern end of the border with Israel, said Milos Struger, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL.
Rescue workers were trying to clear the rubble, but Israeli firing "continued even during the rescue operation," Struger said.
Annan said two UN military observers were killed with two more feared dead.
The victims included observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, UN and Lebanese military officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorise to release the information to the media.
It was not immediately known which were confirmed dead.
China's official Xinhua news agency reported that the body of the Chinese national, Du Zhaoyu, had been found. China's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.
As reports of the attack emerged, Annan rushed out of a hotel in Rome following a dinner with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
"I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN Observer post in southern Lebanon," Annan said in a statement later.
Annan said in his statement that the post had been there for a long time and was marked clearly, and was hit despite assurances from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would not be attacked.
"I call on the government of Israel to conduct a full investigation into this very disturbing incident and demand that any further attack on UN positions and personnel must stop," Annan said in the statement.
Gillerman said "Israel is carrying out a thorough inquiry into the tragic incident and will inform the UN of its results as soon as possible."
"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south Lebanon," a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, Mark Regev, said.
"We do not target UN personnel and, since the beginning of this conflict, we have made a consistent effort to ensure the safety of all members of (the UN peacekeeping force).
"This tragic event will be thoroughly investigated," said Regev.
The US said it regretted the deaths and was trying to find out exactly what happened, a US official said in Washington.
"We have seen the brief initial reports. We regret this loss of life. We are attempting to get information to confirm the nature of this incident," the official said on condition of anonymity because of the preliminary nature of reports about the attack.
Earlier, a US State Department official told AFP in Rome that Israel had termed the attack an accident.
"The Israelis have told us it was an accident," said a senior State Department official on condition of anonymity, saying the incident was a "terrible tragedy" which the US heard of with great regret.
But another US official declined to say who was at fault for the incident while blaming the Shii'te militia Hizbollah for the broader conflict.
"We reiterate the need to recall that this crisis was precipitated by an unprovoked attack by Hizbollah upon Israel. Hizbollah continues its indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in Israel," the official said.
"Through its actions, Hizbollah has dragged all citizens into a conflict that they did not and do not want," the official said.
Since Israel launched a massive military offensive against Lebanon and Hizbollah guerrillas on July 12, an international civilian employee working with UNIFIL and his wife have been killed in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hizbollah guerrillas in the southern port city of Tyre.
Five UNIFIL soldiers and one military observer have also been wounded, Struger said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/israel-targeted-un-workers/2006/07/26/11538 16215215.html