JAKARTA - The Government of the Republic of Indonesia expressed its deep condolences for the death of Praka Rico Pramudia, a TNI soldier who was carrying out peacekeeping mission duties under the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon, due to the injuries he suffered after receiving treatment for almost a month.
"The Government of the Republic of Indonesia expresses its deepest condolences for the death of Praka Rico Pramudia, an Indonesian soldier in the UNIFIL peace mission, who suffered serious injuries due to an artillery explosion from an Israeli tank near the city of Adchit Al Qusayr on March 29, 2026," the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in its statement, as quoted on Friday (24/4).
Praka Rico together with Kopda (Anm) Farizal Rhomadhon, Praka Bayu Prakoso and Praka Arif Kurniawan who are part of the Yonmek TNI Konga XXIII-S/UNIFIL Task Force, were at the UNIFIL facility in Adchit Al Qusayr, when a projectile exploded on March 29.
Kopda (Anm) Farizal was killed on the spot. Meanwhile, Praka Rico and two of his colleagues were injured.
"Since the incident, the Indonesian government, through close and intensive coordination with UNIFIL, the Lebanese government, and medical teams in Beirut, has ensured that medical treatment is carried out quickly and optimally," explained the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Various best medical steps have been taken, but due to the severe injuries he suffered, the deceased's life could not be saved," the ministry added.
Based on the analysis of the location of the impact and the fragments found at the position, UNIFIL said the bullet was a 120mm tank main armament projectile fired by an Israeli Merkava tank from the east, towards Ett Taibe, quoted from Anadolu.
UNIFIL noted that it had provided the coordinates of all its positions and facilities to the Israeli military on March 6 and again on March 22, weeks before the incident, in an effort to reduce the risk to its personnel.
The death of Praka Rico increased the number of TNI soldiers who died while participating in the TNI Yonmek Konga XXIII-S/UNIFIL Task Force. to four people.
Previously, a day after the incident that killed Kopda (Anm) Farizal, Major Inf (Anm) Zulmi Aditya Iskandar and Serka (Anm) Nur Ichwan were killed by an explosion that hit a UN forces convoy near Bani Hayyan.
"The government expresses its deepest condolences to the families left behind. The state is present to give the best tribute to the deceased for his dedication and sacrifice in maintaining world peace," wrote the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The government continues to coordinate with UNIFIL to ensure that the repatriation process of the bodies can be carried out immediately and with full respect," the ministry said.
"Indonesia again strongly condemns the Israeli attack that led to the death of Indonesian peacekeepers. Attacks on peacekeepers are a serious violation of international law and can be categorized as war crimes," said the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Indonesia continues to urge the United Nations to conduct a thorough, transparent, and accountable investigation to uncover the facts and ensure accountability for this incident," the ministry continued.
In addition to the four TNI soldiers, two French soldiers who were also part of the UNIFIL mission were killed in the past month.
Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio was killed in an attack last Saturday. His colleague, Corporal Anicet Girardin, who was injured in the attack, was announced by President Emmanuel Macron to have died from his severe injuries, after being evacuated from Lebanon.
Until the incident that killed the TNI soldier on March 29-30, the number of UNIFIL personnel who died as a result of evil acts has reached 97 people since the mission began in March 1978, quoted from Euronews.
In total, more than 330 UNIFIL personnel have died while on duty, the highest number of casualties of any UN peacekeeping operation.
"The safety and security of UN peacekeepers cannot be negotiated. Therefore, the Government also continues to coordinate with the UN and troop-contributing countries to strengthen protection for all personnel in the field, including through a thorough evaluation of safety and security aspects and strengthening of risk mitigation measures in the UNIFIL operation area," said the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
