Saturday’s incident was the second involving United Nations peacekeepers and civilians in south Lebanon this week.

On Tuesday, residents of several south Lebanon villages had blocked roads to keep peacekeepers from performing a military drill. A UN statement said Saturday’s clash occurred when a UN armored personnel carrier and light armored vehicle were blocked by villagers who started pelting the vehicles with stones near the village of Qabrikha.

The patrol drove away but was again surrounded by a crowd of around fifty people who deflated the vehicles’ tires and threw stones at them, breaking windows and windscreens.

The peacekeepers fired warning shots in the air to disperse the crowd, the statement issued late Saturday said.

“The UNIFIL patrol leader who had stepped out of the vehicle to try to talk to the civilians was roughed up by some members of the crowd and his weapon (was) snatched,” the statement said. “He received minor injuries on his forehead and was sheltered by some civilians in a nearby house.”

It said Lebanese forces intervened to restore calm and recover UNIFIL’s weapons. UNIFIL Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas said “it is incumbent on the Lebanese authorities to ensure the security and freedom of movement for UNIFIL within its area of operation.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern in a report to the UN Security Council earlier this month about the attacks aimed at UNIFIL forces.

Ban said on Friday that Israel’s allegations that Hezbollah had received Scud missiles from Syria had “resulted in increased tension” in the region. Syria has rejected the missile allegation.

UN diplomats said at least one country contributing troops to the mission has asked the Lebanese government to deploy more forces to the south.

The UNIFIL peacekeeping mission has about 12,100 military personnel from 30 countries.

Tension has increased in recent months between the UNIFIL peacekeepers and residents in Lebanon’s south, a stronghold of the Hezbollah group. UN special coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams told reporters there were several incidents in southern Lebanon last week.

“Some of these may have been something spontaneous in the street, but some were clearly organized,” he said.

Some Western diplomats say Hezbollah members have encouraged and taken part in the confrontations, a charge the group denies.