Gunshots Stop U.N.Team from Verifying Israeli WithdrawalIsraeli soldiers fired five gunshot which suspended a U.N. team from verifying the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Thursday.Four shots passed over the heads of the verification team and one hit the ground in front of the deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Eckhard said. The shooting began after eight U.N. and four Lebanese officers got out of U.N. marked vehicles and walked towards a barbed wire fence, the spokesman said. There were no injuries and the Israelis apologized to the United Nations, saying it was a stupid mistake, Eckhard said. The verification would resume Friday, the spokesman added. It is widely seen that the shots were the reminder of the difficulties that the United Nations is facing in verifying the Israeli withdrawal. The United Nations has hoped to finish the verification within days of the abrupt Israeli pullout on May 24. |
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