SIDON, Lebanon: President Michel Sleiman said Thursday recent bomb attacks on UNIFIL were terror acts aimed at forcing U.N. peacekeeping troops to withdraw from south Lebanon.

He also condemned the firing of rockets from south Lebanon toward Israel, saying such attacks harmed the country’s security and stability and called for the arrest of the culprits.Sleiman made the remarks in speeches during a tour of south Lebanon where he visited the headquarters of the French contingent in the village of Deir Kifa near Tyre and met with the five French peacekeepers who were wounded when a roadside bomb explosion struck their vehicle near Tyre on Dec. 9, in the third attack targeting UNIFIL this year.

Sleiman was flown by Army helicopter to the headquarters of the French contingent where he was received by Acting Force Commander Brigadier General Santi Bonfanti at the headquarters of the UNIFIL Force Commander Reserve in Deir Kifa before meeting the five wounded soldiers to check on their health.

He extended his greetings and holiday wishes to UNIFIL peacekeepers.

Addressing the five wounded soldiers, Sleiman said: “You are here alongside the Lebanese Army to implement Resolution 1701 in the interest of peace in Lebanon and the region and also humanity in these circumstances. You were a target of two terrorist attacks this year. We thank God for your safety.”

Recalling the Lebanese Army’s fierce battles against Fatah al-Islam gunmen in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared near Tripoli in 2007, Sleiman said: “We were a target of terrorism in 2007 when we destroyed its base in the Nahr al-Bared camp in the north.

“Today, terrorism exists and is operating secretly and is targeting UNIFIL in order to force it to withdraw [from south Lebanon]. Therefore, I salute you and the soldiers who did not retreat in the face of terrorism.

“The attack on you is an attack on UNIFIL as a whole and on the idea of peace and on the United Nations, and of course [it is aimed] at undermining Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty.” Sleiman said.

Praising the “excellent cooperation” between the Army and UNIFIL, Sleiman said Lebanon is currently carrying out “a strategic review” whereby the Army could replace French troops in some positions.

“We always condemn these terrorist attacks. Investigations should be expanded to arrest the perpetrators and refer them to the judiciary,” he said.

Sleiman, accompanied by Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn and Army Commander General Jean Kahwagi, was welcomed at the UNIFIL French base by Colonel Cedric du Gardin, the commanding officer of the Force Commander Reserve, in the presence of UNIFIL Chief of Staff Brigadier General Olivier Pougin de la Maisonneuve and the French ambassador to Lebanon, Denis Pietton. Sleiman was presented with a UNIFIL Honor Guard from the French contingent.

Bonfanti and top UNIFIL officials expressed gratitude to Sleiman for his tour. “The visit brings a message of support and solidarity for UNIFIL and the mission we are carrying out,” Bonfanti said, according to a UNIFIL statement. “This recognition, and the widespread support we received from across the Lebanese political spectrum after the attack on our peacekeepers, will only strengthen our resolve to carry out our mandated tasks.”

France is one of the leading troop contributing countries to the peacekeeping mission since UNIFIL was first established in 1978. More than 1,300 French troops serve with UNIFIL.

Sleiman’s visit came after the Dec. 9 attack on French peacekeepers, the third targeting UNIFIL this year. Six Italian peacekeepers were wounded in a roadside bombing in May and five French soldiers were wounded in a similar blast in July.

Later, Sleiman visited the headquarters of the Army’s Eighth Brigade in the village of Ghandourieh where he met with the brigade commander and senior officers. The president then visited the Army barracks in Tyre where he served as commander of the brigade in the city before he was appointed Army commander.

Addressing the troops, Sleiman cited “three pillars” which have protected Lebanon throughout the year – the Lebanese Army, the country’s pluralist democratic system, and “the financial system, which despite all the global financial crises, was able to protect Lebanon financially and economically,” he said.

Referring to the attacks on UNIFIL and the firing of rockets, Sleiman said: “We condemn the terrorist attacks on UNIFIL and the firing of rockets which is against the state in Lebanon and Lebanese sovereignty. [Rocket launch] is targeting Lebanon and harming its reputation, its image, stability and security. We must not back off in the face of terrorism.”

Sleiman rejected the launching of rockets from Lebanon into Israel and called for the arrest of the culprits. “Those [firing the rockets] are undermining security and stability ... I am sure that whoever is firing these rockets doesn’t care for the resistance and steadfastness,” he said.

Earlier this month, a rocket launched from south Lebanon toward Israel fell short of its target, seriously wounding a Lebanese woman. The rocket launch on Dec. 11 came nearly two weeks after rockets fired from south Lebanon hit northern Israel in the first such attack in two years, triggering retaliatory Israeli shelling of a Lebanese border village.