Three Russian officers serving with the United Nations observers force in Syria were in Israel over the weekend, the first such visit by Soviet military personnel. They stayed at the UN observers headquarters in Tiberias to attend ceremonies at which a medal was awarded to another UN officer.
Meanwhile, two Canadian officers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were detained by Israeli authorities for taking photographs in a restricted area near Metullah. Their cameras and film were confiscated and the officers were released.
UNIFIL announced yesterday that it would pay compensation in an undisclosed amount to the family of a young Christian militiaman in south Lebanon who was fatally wounded by UNIFIL troops near Nakura on April 18. The youth was shot during an exchange of fire between UN forces and the Christian militia. He was laying telephone wires at the time but was mistakenly thought to be planting mines. UNIFIL termed the shooting an accident and said its payment to the family would be made “on purely humanitarian grounds and shall not be interpreted in any way as an admission of responsibility on the part of UNIFIL.”
In a related development, the Christian militia released four Dutch UNIFIL officers whom they had taken prisoner after the shooting. The men were freed yesterday after negotiations between militia commander Maj. Saad Haddad and UNIFIL commander Gen. Emmanuel Erskine.
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