Recent incidents involving Indonesian UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon have been causing some consternation, not least in Jakarta. However, these attacks do not provide sufficient reason for Indonesia to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. Instead, the confrontations that took place close to the border near Adchit al-Qusayr and Naqoura will require Indonesia to think differently about international peacekeeping, press its diplomats for a stronger mandate for UNIFIL, and conduct a careful risk assessment at national level to weigh the interests at stake against the risks to its soldiers’ safety. Indonesia, as the world’s second largest contributor to UN peacekeeping forces, will be challenged in each of these areas.

Soldiers of the Indonesian contingent patrolling with the UNIFIL force came under fire on Thursday from Israeli troops and militia between Lebanese and UNIFIL cordon points. One of the Indonesian troops was killed, and three others were wounded in the clash. This was the third serious incident involving the Indonesian contingent; two Indonesian soldiers were wounded at the UNIFIL barracks in Naqoura in mid February in an incident which the troops described as a serious breach of a supposed neutral cordon that the UNIFIL was supposed to monitor and control.

Indonesia on Friday condemned the killing of one of its soldiers in south Lebanon and demanded a proper investigation into the incident from the UN, as well as more cooperation from the UN top hierarchy. The country expressed sympathy for the soldier who was killed while fighting “to defend order and peace” in a foreign land, and showed anger and discontent that mechanisms to confront the “militias” were not adequate. Members of the Indonesian parliament took the government to task over the limitations of the UNIFIL in preventing or stopping........

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