UN Forces Find Ammonium Nitrate Explosives on Southern Lebanon Border

UNIFIL patrol boat. (Source: UNIFIL)

JAKARTA - UN peacekeepers said on Tuesday they had found about four tons of explosives, mostly ammonium nitrate, this month in a southern Lebanese border village under Israeli occupation.

On July 2 during a "routine route inspection" near Houla, "peacekeepers discovered 385 containers abandoned inside a building, containing about 4,000 kilograms of explosives, most of which consisted of ammonium nitrate compounds," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement. , reported Al Arabiya from AFP (29/7).

UNIFIL specialists "then carried out on-site procedures to disable the material, make it safe and eliminate the risk it posed," he continued.

A source familiar with the matter told AFP on condition of anonymity that the container had Hebrew writing and "was likely used for destruction."

Houla is part of a strip of territory stretching some 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanon along the border where Israeli forces, who invaded during the last war with Hezbollah, have operated and have warned residents not to return.

Previously, the state-run Lebanese National News Agency had reported four explosions carried out by Israel in Houla this month.

On July 8, the Houla City Government condemned "in the strongest terms the crimes committed by the Israeli enemy in the form of burning, bombing, and destruction of houses, public buildings, and private property."

Ammonium nitrate, which is used in fertilizers as well as explosives, has triggered bad memories in Lebanon.

On August 4, 2020, a pile of chemicals exploded in the Port of Beirut, after being stored carelessly for years.

The blast killed more than 220 people, injured more than 6,500 others, and destroyed large parts of the capital.