Mideast situation/Lebanon – Letter from Lebanon

Letter dated 24 December 1987 from the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the

Permanent Mission Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

On instructions from my Government and further to our previous letters, I regret to inform you that Israel has continued its acts of aggression against various regions in southern Lebanon, as indicated below:

On Saturday, 19 December, around 3 p.m., the town of Nabatiyeh and the outskirts of Habbouche were shelled by heavy artillery, causing considerable material damage.

On Monday, 21 December, towards afternoon, the region located between the Qaaqaïet el-Jisr valley and Habbouche was subjected to bombardment supported by artillery fire aimed mainly at the village of Arabsalim. This caused the death of 7 people and wounded 25 others, including civil defence elements. Two vehicles belonging to the Lebanese Red Cross were also completely burned.

On the morning of Monday, 21 December, the villages of Jebaa and Arabsalim and the area surrounding Ain Kana were subjected to bombardment, caning from the so-called "security zone" and supported by simulated aerial attacks carried out by the Israeli air force, which resulted in considerable material losses.

The Lebanese Government reiterates its vigorous condemnation of these criminal Israeli acts, while once again drawing attention to the blatant fact that Israel is perpetuating its defiance of the principles of international law and its refusal to conform to the spirit of the United Nations Charter and the many resolutions adopted by United Nations forums. Accordingly, the Lebanese Government stresses, all the more, the gravity of the provocative attitude of Israel in violating, on an onqoing basis, the sovereignty of a neighbouring State and jeopardizing the life, security and property of its citizens.

The Lebanese Government also reserves the right to convene the Security Council in order that it may shoulder its full responsibility with regard to the alarming situation prevailing in southern Lebanon.

I should be grateful, Sir, if you would have the text of this letter circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under the item entitled "'The situation in the Middle East", and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Chawki CHOUERI

Ambassador

Chargé d'affaires a.i.