The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that a soldier from the Indonesian battalion died of injuries sustained by a projectile explosion inside its base in southern Lebanon.
The force said in a statement on Friday, April 24, that Corporal Rico Barmudia (31) died in a Beirut hospital, after being seriously injured by a projectile explosion inside his base in the town of Adchit al-Qusayr on the night of March 29.
UNIFIL extended its condolences to the soldier's family, the Indonesian army, and the Government and people of Indonesia, and called on all parties to abide by international law and ensure the safety and security of United Nations personnel and property.
It stressed that the deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are "grave violations of international humanitarian law and of Security Council Resolution 1701, and may amount to war crimes."
Two French UNIFIL soldiers killed
UNIFIL announced on Saturday (April 18th) that one of its members was killed and three others, including two in serious condition, were wounded after a patrol affiliated with it came under fire from "non-governmental actors" in southern Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the incident, announcing that First Sergeant Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineering Regiment was killed and three other soldiers were wounded, saying that "the data indicate that the responsibility for this attack belongs to Hezbollah," calling on the Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators immediately and to cooperate fully with UNIFIL.
On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the Lebanese presidency announced the death of a French soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as a result of his wounds sustained during the shooting incident that targeted a patrol of the international force in the town of Ghandouriya in southern Lebanon last Saturday.
According to the presidential statement, President Joseph Aoun officially informs the soldier, who was among those injured in the attack, of the death of the soldier, and reiterated his condemnation of the incident and his condolences to the French state and the UNIFIL leadership.
Aoun considered that the late soldier "joined with his comrade the convoy of martyrs of the international forces who watered the land of the south with their blood, as did the martyrs of the Lebanese army and security forces."
What is UNIFIL?
UNIFIL is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), an international United Nations peacekeeping mission deployed in southern Lebanon, established in 1978 by Security Council resolutions 425 and 426, following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that year.
Its primary tasks are to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, to restore international peace and security in the region and to assist the Government of Lebanon in extending its effective authority in the south.
After the 2006 war, UNIFIL's mandate was strengthened by Security Council Resolution 1701 to include monitoring the cessation of hostilities, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in its deployment to the south, and ensuring humanitarian access, consisting of some 10,000 troops from some 50 countries, as well as civilian personnel and a naval force that monitors Lebanon's coast.
As for its scope of deployment, it operates in the area between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line (between Lebanon and Israel) in the south, and its headquarters are located in the town of Naqoura.