Middle East tensions: Ghana lodges complaint with UN over attacks on UNIFIL soldiers

The Government of Ghana has formally lodged a protest with the United Nations following missile attacks on Ghanaian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon.

The protest, addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, was submitted by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, after two Ghanaian soldiers were seriously injured in the attack on March 6.

The incident occurred amid ongoing exchanges between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which have intensified following wider tensions in the Middle East.

“The Government of Ghana has called for a full, immediate, impartial and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack on personnel deployed in the service of international peace and security,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Earlier, the Ghana Armed Forces confirmed that the Ghanaian battalion headquarters under UNIFIL came under two missile attacks between 1745 and 1752 hours local time.

Two soldiers were critically injured while another officer suffered trauma from the attack, which also destroyed the officers’ mess facility after it was hit and set ablaze.

According to the military, the injured soldiers are receiving treatment at a Level One Medical Bunker and arrangements are underway for their evacuation to the UNIFIL referral hospital.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the attack and demanded accountability for those responsible.

“Ghana strongly condemns this attack and has further demanded that those responsible be identified and held accountable, as the attack constitutes a grave violation of international law and amounts to a war crime,” the statement added.

The government also urged the United Nations to take urgent steps to guarantee the safety of all peacekeeping personnel, including members of the Ghanaian contingent serving under the mission.

The missile strike occurred in the context of escalating regional tensions following coordinated attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, which reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei.

The development has since triggered retaliatory strikes by Iran and heightened instability across the region.