Beirut, April 15: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has deployed troops near the technical fence after Israeli tanks made a brief incursion into the Lebanese territory.
Two Israeli Merkava tanks on Thursday infiltrated four meters across the Blue Line in the vicinity of Al-Adeisseh before withdrawing.
According to a security official, the alarm was sounded by people picking herbs in the area, who saw the Israeli tanks crossing the Blue Line, AFP reported.
UNIFIL said that reinforcement, which included Lebanese soldiers, was sent in the vicinity of Al-Adeisseh village, in the Marjayoun district in south Lebanon, to keep the situation under control and prevent any further Israeli infiltration beyond the UN-drawn Blue Line.
The Blue Line is a border between the two countries established in 2000. Lebanon has challenged the accuracy of the Blue Line in several locations.
UNIFIL says it observed no violation of the Blue Line, but the Lebanese army reported that an Israeli tank advanced four meters beyond the UN-drawn Blue Line before withdrawing.
The UNIFIL commander has urged all parties to refrain from any provocation.
Al-Adeisseh was a scene of a deadly border clash last August between Israel and Lebanon. That incident erupted after Israeli troops cut down several trees inside the Lebanese border.
The clashes left two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead as well as a senior Israeli officer.
——–Agencies