Serbian peacekeeper dies after sustaining wounds in Lebanon

BELGRADE - Serbian Armed Forces Staff Sergeant Milovan Jovanovic, who was deployed to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, died on Thursday morning as a result of wounds sustained after a missile fell onto a UN base at which peacekeeping personnel, including a part of a Serbian contingent, is stationed, the Serbian Ministry of Defence said.

"Following the incident, Sergeant Jovanovic received immediate medical assistance at the base hospital and was later transported by helicopter to the University Medical Centre in Beirut, where he passed away at approximately 4.00 am local time," the MoD said in a statement.

"Two other members of the international peacekeeping force were also injured in the attack - one from the armed forces of the Republic of El Salvador and the other from the armed forces of the Kingdom of Spain," it also said.

Jovanovic, who was 36, is survived by his wife and two young children.

After joining the Serbian Armed Forces in 2011, he was deployed to the UN mission in Lebanon in January this year.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic, Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Gen Milan Mojsilovic and Deputy PM and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic expressed condolences over Jovanovic's tragic passing.