NAQOURA, Lebanon - The International Committee monitoring a ceasefire in South Lebanon called Wednesday for all sides to protect civilians after recent fighting wounded four people. The committee said it found both Israel and Lebanese groups at fault in separate incidents after it met Tuesday to examine Israeli and Lebanese complaints of ceasefire violations. The panel urged Israel and its allies to refrain from counter-fire when civilian property might be affected and called on Lebanon to assure that Lebanese armed group not launch attacks from civilian populated areas.

The group confirmed that on Monday mortar rounds fired by Israel or those cooperating with it hit the village of Machgara, wounding four civilians. It also said that shells fired by Israel or its allies hit the villages of Haddatha, Kafra, Barachit and Yatar on Tuesday, injuring two civilians. The committee called mortar shells fired by a Lebanese armed group which hit Israeli territory Monday a clear violation of the ceasefire understanding.

The truce monitoring committee was set up to monitor the April 1996 truce which ended Israel's grapes of wrath assault in Lebanon. Under the truce, both Israel and Hezbollah which spearheads most operations against Israel and its allied South Lebanon army are banned from launching attacks from or against civilian areas. Israel occupies a self-declared security zone in South Lebanon to prevent cross-border attacks by anti-Israeli guerrillas.

Ten Lebanese civilians have been killed and 51 wounded in the violence in South Lebanon this year, according to an AFP count. (AFP)