Irish UN observer beaten up by Hezbollah gunmen

An Irish army officer was among three UN observers and two armed peacekeepers assaulted by Hezbollah gunmen in southern Lebanon yesterday, UN officials said.

The incident fuelled fears that the area could become a second front in the escalating Mideast violence.

The scuffle broke out after the unarmed UN observer patrol reached the village of Mari, near the disputed Chebaa Farms area.

Commandant Harry O’Connor, from Co Kerry, and observers from Norway and France were confronted by Hezbollah gunmen who would not let them pass, a UN officer said. An argument started, and the gunmen assaulted the observers.

The three officers were in a stable condition at an Israeli hospital, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said. The New York Post said Commandant O’Connor was severely injured, and the others all suffered broken bones.

A separate UN peacekeeping patrol manned by armed Indian officers was nearby at the time and intervened. This sparked a fist-fight in which two Indians were hurt. Two UN vehicles were also damaged.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly condemned the attack. An escalation of tension along the border ‘‘could have serious consequences for peace and security in the region,’’ Eckhard said.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheik Naim Kassem, dismissed the scuffle as ‘‘a minor incident that was solved.’’ He said the UN members happened to be in a ‘‘tense area of (military) operations.’’

The commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, General Lalit Tewari of India, said he received assurances from the guerillas that such incidents will not happen again. Lebanese authorities also expressed concern over the fight.

Israel, meanwhile, said Hezbollah fired another volley of rockets yesterday at an outpost along the disputed border. There were no reports of injuries.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the attacks, which have become an almost daily occurrence, were carried out with ‘‘Iranian approval and Iranian assistance’’ and could not have been carried out ‘‘without the full support and assistance of Syria.’’

Israel pulled its forces out of southern Lebanon in 2000 ending an 18 year occupation. But tensions remain high along the border, which has seen several recent clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.