UN warns factions in Lebanon following attack on Irish troops

In the aftermath of an attack on Irish troops in south Lebanon, a UN spokesman warned yesterday that exposed UN positions could be closed down if the peacekeepers' repeated warnings to the warring sides were not heeded.

The spokesman for the UN force, Mr Timor Goksel, was speaking after the South Lebanon Army (SLA) fired on a village and on Irish troop positions on Wednesday night.

He said that casualties among UN peacekeepers were inevitable if Israel's client militia continued to respond with indiscriminate machine-gun and mortar fire to resistance attacks.

The SLA fired in a random 360 degree direction from a hilltop south of the village of Brachit. Four posts and the Brachit headquarters manned by the Irish battalion came under fire.

Lieut Enda McGuane, the officer in charge of post 6-42, pointed out the SLA position from the observation tower. The firing began at 7.15 and ended at 7.45 while he and a non-commissioned officer were on watch, he said. He estimated that 650 heavy machine-gun rounds and 850 light machine-gun rounds were fired without warning, although the SLA is obliged to issue a warning. This time "the warning came at least 10 minutes after firing started," said Comdt Tony Kiely.

The UN spokesman also warned that Hizbullah-led resistance operations launched nearer than 500 metres from UN positions attracted militia fire. Failure to heed his warnings could compel the force to close down exposed UN positions. "This radical step could cause the local people we are here to protect to leave. We have repeatedly raised these issues with both sides, but the violations stop for a short time and begin again".

Comdt Kiely said that the firing into Brachit was "in total violation of the April 1996 understanding" which prohibits targeting civilian areas. Last May Private Billy Kedian was killed when an SLA mortar made a direct hit on 6-42.P}