Jakarta condemns incidents that killed three Indonesian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Follow our live coverage here.

JAKARTA – The killing of at least three Indonesian UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, along with injuries to several others, has put fresh focus on the risks facing Jakarta’s overseas deployments and sharpened reactions at home.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on March 30 that two separate incidents over the past two days resulted in the Indonesian casualties, as fighting intensifies between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.

On March 30, two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed when an explosion struck a logistics convoy and destroyed their vehicle near Bani Haiyyan municipality, with two others seriously injured, he said.

The incident followed an earlier explosion at a UN base in the eastern sector near Adchit Al Qusayr, where another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed and a second peacekeeper critically wounded before being evacuated to a hospital in Beirut.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is investigating the incidents to determine the circumstances, Mr Lacroix said, adding that the mission remains seriously concerned about a series of aggressive acts against its personnel in recent days.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the incidents and strongly condemned the attacks in a series of posts on X.

In a post on March 31, the ministry said the recurrence of such attacks against Indonesian peacekeepers was “utterly unacceptable”. “This cannot be treated as an isolated occurrence, but reflects a rapidly deteriorating security environment in southern Lebanon, where ongoing Israeli military operations have placed United Nations peacekeepers at grave risk,” the ministry said.

The post confirmed two deaths and two injuries in an incident near Bani Haiyyan, and followed an earlier update on March 30 about a separate incident in Adchit Al Qusayr.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry had earlier confirmed that one of its peacekeepers, Mr Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, was killed and three others injured while serving with UNIFIL. He was killed by “indirect artillery fire in the vicinity”, it said. His remains have been retrieved and are awaiting repatriation.

Israel’s military said on March 31 that it had launched an investigation into the separate incidents that killed the peacekeepers. “The incidents are being thoroughly reviewed in order to clarify the circumstances and determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF (Israel Defense Forces) activity,” the Israeli military posted on messaging platform Telegram.

Speaking on the sidelines of President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Japan, Foreign Minister Sugiono said on March 30, referring to the earlier incident, that Indonesia condemned it and had instructed its embassy in Beirut to monitor the condition of the injured and prepare for the repatriation of the fallen soldier.

He added that Indonesia’s representative to the UN in New York would meet senior UN officials overseeing peacekeeping operations to seek a full probe into the incident and determine its cause.

Mr Sugiono also reiterated Indonesia’s call for all parties to de-escalate and return to negotiations, noting that the conflict in recent weeks has had a significant impact on the region.

He added that President Prabowo has offered to play a mediating role to support efforts towards a ceasefire.

On March 30, Mr Sugiono said in a post on X that he had spoken with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi following the incidents involving Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeepers.

The incidents are the most serious involving Indonesian troops in the mission since the latest conflict spilt over into Lebanon, and involve the first Indonesian fatalities linked to the latest escalation in the wider Middle East war.

Southern Lebanon has emerged as a new flashpoint since early March, with Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement exchanging cross-border fire after tensions escalated following strikes involving Iran.

The violence comes as the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon was already in the process of being wound down, with its mandate set to end in 2026. Indonesian troops, among the largest contributors to the mission, have long been deployed in the sensitive border area, where they conduct patrols and monitor the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Former Jakarta governor and 2024 presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has condemned the earlier attack, directly blaming Israel and saying the strike was deliberate rather than accidental.

“Indonesia has gone above and beyond. We have sent over 1,200 of our troops to serve under the UN flag. The Indonesian government also joined the Board of Peace (BOP) to push for a just and lasting resolution in the Middle East,” said Mr Anies.

“We extended our hand in good faith. Yet the answer to that good faith is a bomb dropped on our soldiers’ base. They spat on every effort Indonesia has made for peace.”

He added that the incident showed a disregard for international law and called for concrete action from the UN and the international community to ensure accountability.

Mr Guterres also condemned the incident, adding that the attack was among a number of recent developments that have endangered the safety of peacekeepers.

He also called on all parties to uphold international law and ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times.

When asked if the deaths of Indonesian peacekeepers could stoke public anger and affect Jakarta’s involvement in the Middle East, Associate Professor Yohanes Sulaiman of Jenderal Achmad Yani University in West Java said there were already signs of unease at home.

He pointed to Indonesia’s decision on March 3 to put discussions on the US-backed BOP on hold as attention shifted to the conflict involving Iran.

“The last thing they want to have is a riot caused by rising prices due to this war, in addition to disgruntlement over the BOP.... I think the potential fallout would have been much bigger had the government not suspended its involvement in BOP in early March.”

Echoing the view that public dissatisfaction is already present, Mr Pieter Pandie, a researcher at Indonesian think-tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Indonesia’s next steps would also be shaped by broader structural and geopolitical considerations.

“(This includes) the extent to which international institutions and legal mechanisms can actually be used to pursue accountability for the attacks on UNIFIL by Israel, and the extent to which Jakarta will pursue accountability through said mechanisms,” he said.