Irish soldier shot, killed on UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon

An Irish soldier on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been shot dead and a second is in critical condition after a “hostile” crowd surrounded their armored vehicle and opened fire in the southern part of the Arab nation.

“A convoy of two armored utility vehicles carrying eight personnel traveling to Beirut came under small arms fire” late on Wednesday, the Irish military said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement added that “four personnel were taken to Raee Hospital, near [the southern Lebanese city of] Sidon as a result of the (2115 GMT) incident.”

“One soldier was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, and another has undergone surgery and is in a serious condition. The other two soldiers are being treated for minor injuries,” the military noted.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the soldiers were part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and were on a standard run from UNIFIL's area of operations in southern Lebanon to the capital Beirut when the incident happened in the village of al-Aqbieh.

He expressed “profound sadness and a deep sense of shock” over the peacekeeper's death.

Coveney, who in New York for a UN Security Council meeting, said he will meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres later on Thursday to discuss the incident.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed his “deep regret” following the incident, urged all parties to “show wisdom and patience”, and underlined the “need to carry out the necessary inquiries to determine its circumstances and prevent its repetition.”

MG