Paris Urges Restraint on Border, Slams Attacks on Army in Sidon

France on Monday called for calm and restraint on the frontier between Lebanon and Israel after an Israeli soldier was killed Sunday in a cross-border shooting.

In a statement, the French foreign ministry urged “calm and restraint” and stressed the need to “respect and implement (U.N.) Security Council Resolution 1701” which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah and beefed up the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.

The Israeli army said in a statement on Sunday that an Israeli soldier was killed by a “Lebanese army sniper” near the Naqoura border post.

Separately, France condemned the near-simultaneous armed attacks that targeted Lebanese army checkpoints in the southern city of Sidon, reiterating its keenness on “Lebanon's stability” and urging the Lebanese to “avoid any escalation of violence and preserve national unity, in line with the Baabda Declaration.”

It reaffirmed its support for President Michel Suleiman's efforts in this regard and for the army's role.

On Sunday, the army said one of its soldiers died and three others were injured while a suicide bomber and three gunmen were killed in two attacks that targeted military checkpoints in Sidon's al-Awwali and Majdelyoun.