Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) accompanied by the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz (2-R), visiting the UNIFIL headquarters in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura, on Dec. 16, 2022, a day after an Irish UNIFIL soldier was killed in the region. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
The United Nations' peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Friday urged Beirut to ensure a "speedy" investigation into an Irish soldier's shooting death near the Israeli border.
The peacekeeper's convoy came under fire late Wednesday near the village of Al-Aqbiya, the Irish military said, wounding three other members of UNIFIL.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army chief Joseph Aoun visited on Friday the UNIFIL headquarters in the border town of Naqoura, denouncing the attack that claimed private Sean Rooney's life.
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti called it "a very serious incident" and told reporters it was "important" for the Lebanese authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
"It is a crime against the international community, against peacekeepers who are here ... to maintain stability," he added.
It is the first death of a UNIFIL member in a violent incident in Lebanon since January 2015, when a Spanish peacekeeper was killed during retaliatory Israeli fire.
"Peacekeepers are continuing with their activities and patrolling," Tenenti said.
A spokesman for Ireland's army also told AFP that a specialist team was expected in Lebanon on Saturday to launch an investigation of the attack.
UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in reprisal for a Palestinian attack.
Now with nearly 10,000 troops, the UN force acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war.
Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 but fought a devastating 2006 war with the powerful Iran-backed movement Hezbollah and its allies.
UNIFIL was beefed up to oversee the ceasefire that ended that conflict.
Over the years, there have been a number of incidents between Hezbollah supporters and the UN force in border areas loyal to the armed group.
Wafic Safa, Hezbollah's security chief, told Lebanon's LBCI television that the incident was "unintentional" and called for investigators to be given time to establish the facts.
Relations between UNIFIL and communities in south Lebanon have "always been very positive," the force's spokesman said Friday.
"The support of the communities is paramount in order for us to implement our mandate."
The peacekeeper's convoy came under fire late Wednesday near the village of Al-Aqbiya, the Irish military said, wounding three other members of UNIFIL.
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