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U.N. peacekeepers find weapons caches, rocket site and unexploded ordnance near Blue Line in southern Lebanon
Summary
UNIFIL reported sightings of Israeli troops north of the Blue Line, discovered suspected rocket‑launching site and began explosive ordnance clearance near Ras Naqoura after perimeter breaches.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that a patrol observed 10 Israeli soldiers north of the Blue Line and that peacekeepers continued to discover unauthorized weapons and ammunition caches in southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL said deminers began clearing unexploded ordnance in the vicinity of a U.N. position along the Blue Line at Ras Naqoura after the perimeter of that position was breached during recent hostilities. The mission reported about 15 teams engaged in explosive‑ordnance reconnaissance, clearance and disposal, and an awareness campaign reached 330 schoolchildren and teachers in three public schools.
The briefing said UNIFIL had detected roughly 240 sites with unauthorized weapons and ammunition since the cessation-of-hostilities understanding reached in November and that suspected rocket-launching equipment was found near the village of Khfar Haman; UNIFIL reported those sites to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Why it matters: unexploded ordnance and weapons caches pose immediate risks to civilians and U.N. personnel and complicate the delivery of humanitarian and stabilization activities in the area.
Context: the secretary-general and spokesperson reiterated that U.N. peacekeepers have a mandate to monitor the area and to report unauthorized weapons to Lebanese authorities; clearance and risk‑education work is ongoing.
