Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry acting director for international security and peace, Veronica Vicka Ancilla Rompis, said that Jakarta had responded to the UN findings by requesting an exhaustive probe, and had also urged “all relevant parties” to carry out simultaneous investigations to prosecute those responsible.

“The Indonesian government has taken note of the investigation’s findings and called on the UN to complete a full probe. [...] We also support the UN Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL] in lodging a formal protest with the relevant parties,” Vicka said.

“Indonesia reiterates that the safety and security of UN peacekeeping personnel are non-negotiable. Any actions that endanger peacekeepers constitute a serious violation of international law and must not be allowed to continue,” she added.

On Tuesday, more than a week after the two incidents in southern Lebanon that killed three Indonesian peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, released the preliminary findings from the UN probe into the fatalities.

According to the probe, the first incident on March 29, in which Chief Pvt. Farizal Rhomadon was killed near the Indonesian base at Adchit al-Qusayr, was caused by a 120-millimeter tank round fired from the east by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Merkava tank.

The incident, which also wounded three other Indonesian blue helmets, happened despite UNIFIL having previously communicated the location of all its positions and installations to the Israeli military on March 6 and 22 to mitigate the risk to peacekeepers.

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