Ghana calls on Commonwealth to condemn attack on its peacekeepers in Lebanon

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Ghana calls on Commonwealth to condemn attack on its peacekeepers in Lebanon

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Ghana has called on the Commonwealth to condemn Friday’s missile attack on its United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which injured four of its soldiers.

Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa did not say who was responsible during a speech at a Commonwealth meeting on Sunday, but said the bombing was “an attack on every principle that the United Nations Charter exists to defend.”

Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after the Iran-backed Shiite group said it launched rockets and drones on the Israeli city of Haifa last week to avenge the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

All injured Ghanaian soldiers are now in stable condition, the army said.

Three of them were slightly injured and the one who was seriously injured had “successfully undergone surgery and [was] respond to treatment,” he added in a statement.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun blamed Israel for the strike, but Ghanaian officials avoided mentioning who they believe was behind it.

“We urge the Commonwealth to categorically condemn this attack and demand immediate investigations,” Ablakwa said in a speech to his Commonwealth counterparts at a rally in London on Sunday.

The Ghanaian soldiers were serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) when their base was hit shortly before 6:00 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT) on Friday.

Social media has been flooded with videos showing extensive damage and fires at the battalion facilities housing Ghana’s peacekeeping troops.

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also formally lodged a protest with UN Secretary-General António Guterres following the attack.

Guterres said “those responsible must be held to account.”

Ghana is one of the long-standing troop contributors to the UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon, where its soldiers are part of a multinational task force.