UN ‘heartened by Lebanese support’ over Seán Rooney’s death amid reports of arrest
Two days after the 24-year-old was shot and killed, Unifil head of mission and force commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro promised “a swift investigation”. Picture: Defence Forces press office
The UN has said it is heartened by the response of the Lebanese authorities following the death of an Irish peacekeeping soldier amid reports arrests have been made.
A man described as having been “handed over” to Lebanese Armed Forces probing Private Seán Rooney’s murder may have followed the armoured Unifil vehicle for more than 15 minutes.
Described as a blacksmith in his 30s, the man is reported to be from the Adloun region of south Lebanon.
It is understood that Pte Rooney’s vehicle carried on the Adloun section of the old coast road and past a busy junction with the main coastal highway into Beirut, Route 51.
Investigators are trying to understand why his vehicle did not turn onto Route 51 instead of carrying on straight.
The lead vehicle in what was a two-vehicle Unifil convoy is understood to have turned onto Route 51 as planned at around 11.35pm on the night of December 14.
Pte Rooney’s vehicle, the second vehicle, is understood to have kept on going from the junction, which is about 12 minutes drive from the village of Al-Aqabiya, where Pte Rooney was shot and killed.
It is shortly after that Pte Rooney and his colleagues are understood to have first encountered individuals who have claimed they tried to get the Unifil soldiers to explain what they were doing.
Although it is outside their area of operations, Unifil soldiers have what is described as “freedom of movement” around the country and are not required to explain their movements.
There is, however, what senior security sources describe as “an unofficial, informal understanding” that Unifil vehicles generally stay on certain routes to and from their bases.
It is understood that the Unifil vehicle turned down a number of different routes before it arrived in Al-Aqabiya.
According to a report on Lebanese TV station Al Jadeed, the blacksmith was handed over to LAF investigators on December 22.
He is described in the piece as being from “the southern Adloun region”.
He is also described as “not affiliated with” the powerful Hezbollah movement but that he is - reportedly - “a supporter”.
Al-Aqabiya is regarded as a Hezbollah stronghold.
But very quickly after the incident, a spokesperson for Hezbollah had described it as “an unintentional accident between the local people and members of the Irish battalion”.
The blacksmith is also reported to have been handed over to the LAP with “a Kalashnikov weapon”.
It is also claimed that he was “the first to chase the Unifil vehicle from Sarafand to Al-Aqibiya”.
Whether he followed them from the moment they passed that service station on the Adloun road or spotted them nearer the village where they were shot at has not been disclosed.
Video of the incident shows the Unifil vehicle swerving past a group of people near a junction of two roads leading out of the town of Sarafand at around midnight, last Wednesday night, and into Al-Aqibiya.
After the white Unifil-marked armoured jeep appears to collide with a parked car, it then drives up the main street out of the village on the Baissariye road towards Route 51.
As it leaves, a volley of shots can be heard being fired at and into the vehicle.
Moments later, it collided with a pylon, turned over and crashed into a shop.
It emerged that there was a similar roadblocking incident to the December 14 incident involving Unifil personnel who had been lost in the same area.
That incident did not, it is understood, end in any casualties.
Details of Unifil's preliminary report into Pte Rooney’s death are be released "in days", according to senior security sources.
In a statement on Monday, the UN declined to comment on reports that at least one arrest has been made in Lebanon.
A spokesperson said there is an “ongoing investigation into this tragic incident, therefore we can’t pre-empt its results and we need to protect the outcome of the investigation”.
They added: “This incident was deeply shocking, a crime against Unifil peacekeepers who have travelled from far to work in preserving stability in a volatile environment and to work in support of the local population.
“We have asked to find out what happened, and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“We need swift and effective investigations to find those responsible and hold them accountable for their crimes.
“We are heartened by the support of the Lebanese authorities and leaders from across the political spectrum, and we are hopeful that we can get to the truth.”
Two days after the 24-year-old was shot and killed, Unifil head of mission and force commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro promised “a swift investigation”.
Investigators for Unifil, the Defence Forces, and the LAF are all trying to find out exactly what happened from the moment Pte Rooney’s vehicle became separated from the other Unifil vehicle during what has been described as a “routine” run to Beirut Airport.
Lebanese investigators are understood to be sifting through footage from CCTV cameras owned by householders along the route taken by Pte Rooney's vehicle.
Both the Defence Forces and the Lebanese armed forces were asked for a comment about the status of their investigations and about the status of any arrests.
The Defence Forces has repeatedly stated that, while the investigation is ongoing, it will not make any comment.
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