Lebanon charges seven over UN peacekeeper Sean Rooney’s killing

With solely considered one of seven suspects in custody, Lebanese officers say search is underneath means for the opposite six to find out their whereabouts.

Funeral of UN Peacekeeper soldier Pvt. Sean Rooney
The coffin of Non-public Sean Rooney throughout his memorial procession at Beirut airport on December 18, 2022 [File: Hussein Malla/AP Photo]

Lebanon’s army tribunal has charged seven suspects for collaborating in an assault final month that killed a United Nations peacekeeper when the convoy that was carrying him got here underneath assault, in accordance with a number of officers.

Irish Non-public Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three different peacekeepers had been wounded on December 14 when a bunch of armed males shot on the UN Interim Power in Lebanon (UNIFIL) automobile close to the village of al-Aqbiya in southern Lebanon, a centre of assist for the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has denied any position within the killing.

In late December, the Lebanese army arrested a suspect “in cooperation with Hezbollah”, in accordance with the Iran-backed Shia group, which stated the person was not considered one of its members.

The arrested man and 6 different fugitives had been charged within the assault, in accordance with a judicial official acquainted with the investigation, a authorized official following the case and a army official. All spoke to information businesses on situation of anonymity consistent with laws.

The officers stated a search was underneath means for the opposite six suspects and that authorities had been making an attempt to find out whether or not they had left the nation.

 

UNIFIL has urged Lebanese authorities to make sure a swift investigation into the primary violent demise of considered one of its peacekeepers in practically eight years.

The power instructed The Related Press information company that it has not obtained any details about the arrest or the costs within the case.

The peacekeeping power was created to supervise the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The UN expanded its mission following the 2006 struggle between Israel and Hezbollah, permitting peacekeepers to deploy alongside the Israeli border to assist the Lebanese army lengthen its authority into the nation’s south for the primary time in many years.

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon incessantly accuse the UN mission of collusion with Israel, whereas Israel has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s army actions in southern Lebanon.

Through the years, there have been plenty of incidents between Hezbollah supporters and UN peacekeepers however they've not often escalated.

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