DEIR KIFA, Lebanon: A French UNIFIL commander said Tuesday that last week’s attack against five French peacekeepers will not affect UNIFIL’s peace mission in Lebanon, during a ceremony organized on their behalf.

The wounded French peacekeepers arrived to the backdrop of the French national anthem at the conference organized by the head of the UNIFIL Force Commander Reserve, Col. Cedric Du Gardin, on their behalf at the French military base in the village of Deir Kifa near the south Lebanon port city of Tyre.

Five French peacekeepers, and one Lebanese civilian, were wounded Friday when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near the coastal city of Tyre, south Lebanon.

Du Gardin congratulated the peacekeepers for surviving the attack and returning safely to their colleagues and friends. He added that “those behind the terrorist operation do not have the courage to confront us face-to-face.”

He added that the French contingent was a united family and that any attack against any of its members is an attack against the whole contingent. “This attack will not change the face of our peace mission here in Lebanon.”

The wounded peacekeepers received bouquets of red and white roses while the contingent’s members shook their hands and posed for photographs with them.

“This attack did not succeed in erasing the smiles from your faces and those who carried it out did not win that smile,” Du Gardin said.

A number of the contingent’s members were busy preparing for Christmas as they decorated the Christmas tree and set up a grotto with statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi visited the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura Monday, where he met with UNIFIL Commander Gen. Alberto Asarta and a number of senior UNIFIL officers to discuss the latest security developments in the area.