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Politicians, clerics rally behind UNIFIL after village attack
A recent attack by southern villagers on a patrol of peacekeepers in south Lebanon continued to spark reactions on Friday, as politicians and clergymen urged support for UNIFIL, as well as issued warnings that the peacekeepers were provoking locals.
On Tuesday, residents of the village of Khirbet Silim hurled stones at a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)'s vehicle.
UNIFIL spokesperson Neeraj Singh said the incident caused minor injuries among peacekeepers and broke the window of the vehicle.
The incident occurred during a 36-hour capacity-testing operation, which was supposed to see the UN task force deployed to its maximum strength in its mandated area of operations, south of the Litani River.
The drills were canceled following the clash, which was accompanied by a number of protests against the maneuvers.