BEIRUT– Ireland’s top diplomat, on a visit to Lebanon on Monday, expressed concern about the slow progress in criminal proceedings against several Lebanese accused of the 2022 murder of an Irish peacekeeper in the small Mediterranean country.
Micheál Martin, Irish foreign and defense minister, said he was “very, very concerned” about the case. He met with Irish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and with the Lebanese Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, and a representative of the Lebanese Ministry of Defence.
Last June, Lebanon’s military court charged four men with the soldier’s murder. Seán Rooney, 24, from Newtown Cunningham, Ireland, following a half-year investigation. Rooney was assassinated on December 14, 2022.
Only one of the suspects, Mohammed Ayyad, was arrested. However, he was released on bail in November, with authorities citing his health. The other four accused (Ali Khalifeh, Ali Salman, Hussein Salman and Mustafa Salman) remain at large.
All five are allegedly linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any involvement in the assassination.
On the fatal night, Rooney and several other Irish UNIFIL soldiers were en route from their base in southern Lebanon to Beirut airport. Two UN vehicles were reportedly diverted through Al-Aqbiya, which is not part of the peacekeepers’ mandated area.
Initial reports said angry residents confronted peacekeepers, but prosecutors concluded the shooting was a targeted attack. The UN peacekeeping vehicle reportedly took a wrong turn and was surrounded by vehicles and armed men as they attempted to return to the main road.
“We want justice to be done” and for the killers to be “brought to justice,” Martin told reporters. “We understand the separation of powers. But we are concerned about the slowness of the trial. And the Irish people want justice.”
UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after the 1978 Israeli invasion, and its mission was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Relative calm prevailed in the border region after that war until the start of Israel’s war against Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, in Gaza in October. For more than seven months, Hezbollah and allied groups have clashed almost daily with Israeli forces, with no immediate prospect of a cessation of hostilities apparent.
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Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
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