Last update - 00:00 18/01/2008
UNIFIL: IDF briefly detains Lebanese man who wandered across border
By The Associated Press
The Israel Defense Forces on Friday briefly detained a Lebanese man who it said had crossed the border into Israel, a spokeswoman with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said.
Yasmina Bouziane said UNIFIL was informed by the IDF that they "detained one person in the general area of Ghajar village on the Israeli side of the blue line" that marks the border between the two countries.
Ghajar straddles the Israel-Lebanon border.
Bouziane said that UNIFIL remained in contact with the IDF and Lebanese armies and "facilitated the man's release and he returned to Lebanon."
She said that an investigation team was dispatched to the area to ascertain that facts regarding the incident.
On January 7, a Lebanese shepherd was detained by IDF troops in the disputed Shebaa Farms area and released a day later.
Lebanese security officials said the shepherd had been herding his goats when he wandered inside the area, a small slice of territory where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet.