Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who also holds the portfolio for foreign affairs, is set to urge the Lebanese government to hasten efforts in persecuting the culprits of Pte Seán Rooney’s murder during his forthcoming weekend visit to Lebanon. Conversations in Beirut with the Lebanese defence minister Maurice Sleem and foreign affairs minister Abdallah BouHabib are planned for this Sunday.
Mr Martin’s sojourn in Lebanon will include a meeting with Irish Defence Forces currently stationed with the United Nations Interim Force Lebanon (Unifil) peacekeeping mission in the country’s south. Since the outbreak of the conflict between Hamas and Israel last October, they have been operating under a heightened threat environment. The battleground in Gaza, located approximately 200km south of their location, witnesses daily crossfire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hizbullah, a Hamas ally, along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
A primary objective of this visit will be to express the Irish Government’s unwavering commitment to bringing the perpetrators of Pte Rooney’s murder to justice, announced Mr Martin prior to his Sunday meetings. Pte Seán Rooney, a 24 year-old Newtowncunningham native (Co Donegal), was tragically killed in an assault on an Irish peacekeepers’ convoy in the Lebanese town of Al-Aqbiya in December 2022.
The lone arrestee among five suspects, Muhammad Ayyad, was charged with multiple offences following the attack. His hearing was postponed last December after his solicitors asserted that he was too unwell to attend court. The trial has been rescheduled for the succeeding month.
Lt Gen Seán Clancy, the Defence Forces’ chief of staff, and Department of Defence secretary general Jacqui McCrum have accompanied Mr Martin to Lebanon.
Furthering the Tánaiste’s itinerary, he is set to visit Camp Shamrock to interact with the 124th Infantry Battalion members in Unifil. The Irish troops serving there make up Ireland’s broadest overseas deployment. The Government has recently ratified the deployment of an extra 33 troops, including Army Ranger Wing’s members, to assist the Irish battalion in Lebanon.
Expressing his anticipation at meeting his peacekeepers amidst escalating tensions from the Gaza war, Mr Martin stated, “I am keenly looking forward to meeting our peacekeepers who serve with utmost honour in Unifil, and in a demanding environment, due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.”
“We have recently expressed our ongoing commitment to Unifil and its crucial role in alleviating tension in Lebanon’s southern region, by augmenting the strength of the force protection unit within the battalion. It’s the sacrifice and dedication of the Defence Force personnel and their families that underline Ireland’s obligation towards global peace and stability. This effort is particularly noticeable in the southern area of Lebanon.”
Unifil was formed by the Security Council in 1978 in response to an Israel’s incursion into Lebanon. After the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizbullah, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and 158 Israelis, largely soldiers, Unifil’s span and magnitude were enlarged. The peacekeeping force is stationed in the south of Lebanon with the chief responsibility of sustaining international peace and security.