Irish Soldier Killed After UN Convoy Attacked in Lebanon
Private Séan Rooney, an Irish member of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), serving in the country's south near the Israeli border, was killed on Wednesday after his armored vehicle came under fire. Three other Irish peacekeepers were injured in the attack.
Facts
- Private Séan Rooney, an Irish member of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), serving in the country's south near the Israeli border, was killed on Wednesday after his armored vehicle came under fire. Three other Irish peacekeepers were injured in the attack.
- Irish Defense Minister Simon Coveney reported that two armored patrol vehicles were on a standard administrative trip to Beirut but they got separated — one of them was surrounded and attacked by what he characterized as a "hostile mob."
- The incident took place in the village of al-Aqbiya when the convoy passed through the area. Witnesses stated that the vehicle was blocked by villagers after it took a road along the Mediterranean coast not normally used by UNIFIL.
- However, Ireland's Senator Tom Clonan stated that the road where the attack happened is a well-known route for peacekeepers, describing this incident as "really, very, very, shocking" and a "completely unprovoked attack."
- The UN announced that it would investigate the incident, with UNIFIL saying "at the moment, details are sparse and conflicting."
- UNIFIL was deployed in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after Israel had invaded Lebanon that same year. Southern Lebanon is generally considered to be a stronghold for Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite armed group.
Sources: Guardian, BBC News, Times of Israel, RTE, and National News
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Al Mayadeen. This was an avoidable tragedy. The unintentional incident that led to the death of the Irish soldier came as the UNIFIL vehicle did not take the highway route but rather took the sea route and ran over a group of angered young men from the al-Aqibiya region who tried to stop the vehicle. An investigation must scrutinize why soldiers failed to follow the convoy and passed in this area of Beirut.
- Narrative B, as provided by Irish Times. All the current evidence suggests that this was a preplanned attack, most likely in response to UNIFIL slightly changing how it operates in south Lebanon. Considering that Hezbollah has a strong presence in the area and essentially runs its de-facto separate state in the south, it would not be surprising if Hezbollah was behind this. It would not be the first time the group has come into conflict with UNIFIL either.
