After rocket hit

Injured Austrian Armed Forces blue helmets back on duty

The impact near the workshop in the UN camp Naqoura briefly set the building on fire.

(Bild: UNIFIL)

One day after eight Austrian blue helmet soldiers were slightly injured by a rocket hit in southern Lebanon, the Austrian Armed Forces have given the all-clear: the men were back on duty on Wednesday morning and no one had to be flown out.  

They were the first Austrian casualties in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon: on Tuesday, eight soldiers of the Austrian Armed Forces were injured in a missile strike at the UN base in Naqoura. The UN now assumes that the rocket was fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon. It is said to have been a stray missile that hit the camp by chance.

Tense security situation in the camp.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/UNIFIL/AFP)

Psychological support
One day later, the Austrian army soldiers are already back on duty, as the "Krone" learned. No one had to be flown out, but psychological care was provided on site. The injuries are limited to superficial abrasions, it was reported.

The security measures in the camp are high, however, and buildings may only be left with a protective vest and helmet. A withdrawal is not on the cards - this has already been communicated beforehand. Austria will not go it alone.

Official reaction from Lebanon
On Tuesday evening, Foreign Minister Schallenberg spoke on the phone with his Lebanese counterpart Bou Habib to condemn Hezbollah's actions. According to the Foreign Ministry, Habib himself was "shocked" by the incident. The aim of Lebanon's official representation is still for Hezbollah to withdraw from the south and for full state control to be established there. 

The UNIFIL camp Naqoura is located around 110 kilometers south of the Lebanese capital Beirut on the border with Israel:

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Blue helmets increasingly in the line of fire
The UN observer mission UNIFIL in Lebanon has, by its own account, been targeted several times by the warring parties in recent weeks. Most of the attacks on blue helmets are attributed to Israeli troops, who are fighting the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia in Lebanon from the air and with ground troops. Israel has demanded the withdrawal of UNIFIL troops from combat zones.