UNIFIL urges swift probe into Irish peacekeeper's death
The United Nations' peacekeeping force in south Lebanon on Friday urged Lebanese authorities to ensure a "speedy" investigation into an Irish soldier's shooting death near the southern town of al-Aqbiyeh.
The peacekeeper's convoy came under fire late Wednesday, the Irish military said, wounding three other members of the U.N. force UNIFIL.
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.
UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon under the excuse of a Palestinian attack.
Now with nearly 10,000 troops, the U.N. force acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war.
Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000 but fought a devastating 2006 war with the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah.
UNIFIL was beefed up to oversee the ceasefire that ended that conflict.
- Bullet to the head -
Witnesses said villagers in the al-Aqbiyeh area, a Hezbollah stronghold, blocked the Irish peacekeepr's vehicle after it took a road along the Mediterranean coast not normally used by the United Nations force.
A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that the peacekeeper was killed by a bullet to the head when seven projectiles pierced the vehicle.
The three others were injured when the vehicle hit a pylon and overturned, the source added.
Following a meeting in Naqoura with the force's commander, Major General Aroldo Lazaro, Lebanon's caretaker PM Najib Mikati said "the investigation continues in order to determine the circumstances of the incident."
The Lebanese premier said it was "important" to prevent similar attacks, and promised "those who will be proven guilty will be punished."
A spokesman for Ireland's army told AFP that a specialist team was expected in Lebanon on Saturday to launch an investigation of the attack.
Over the years there have been a number of incidents between Hezbollah supporters and the U.N. force in border areas loyal to the armed group.
Wafiq 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 on Friday.
"The support of the communities is paramount in order for us to implement our mandate."
Source: Agence France Presse
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