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Hezbollah Denounces Inclusion in Investigation into Killing of Irish Soldier in Lebanon

Hezbollah condemns the inclusion of its name in the investigation into the killing of an Irish soldier in southern Lebanon

Today, Friday, Hezbollah denounced the involvement of its members in the ongoing investigations into the killing of an Irish soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to what a party official told AFP, the day after a judicial source accused its members of being responsible for the incident. coinciding with the issuance of the indictment.

On Thursday, a judicial source told Agence France-Presse that five Hezbollah members, one of whom was arrested, had been charged with premeditated murder in the attack that killed soldier Sean Rooney (23 years old) and injured three of his comrades on December 14. December, as a result of shooting at their armored car while it was passing through the Al-Aqabiya area in the south of the country.

Less than two weeks after the incident, the party handed over the main shooter, Muhammad Ayyad, to the army, according to what a security source told AFP at the time.

The indictment, issued by the first military investigation judge, Fadi Sawan, accuses the arrested Ayad and four others who are in hiding, of “forming a group of evil people and carrying out one criminal project.” In it, it is stated that video and audio recordings of surveillance cameras seized in the vicinity of the attack site, clearly show that the attacked patrol was surrounded from all sides, and attacked by gunmen, some of whom were heard saying, “We are from Hezbollah,” and calling each other over wireless devices.

The indictment did not hold “Hezbollah” responsible for the attack, but a judicial source told “Agence France Presse” that members of the party are behind it, and they have been charged with “intentionally killing.”

In response to a question by “Agence France Presse”, a Hezbollah official refused today to comment on the indictment, stressing that it was “originally not a party to the problem between the people and the Irish patrol,” explaining that the party “played a major role in easing tensions in the region.” That incident, and at that time he made the necessary contacts with both the army command and UNIFIL, and he had a prominent role in pushing the people to cooperate with the army and the military judiciary.

The official believed that “there is no justification for including his name in the statements of the judicial source, given that the indictment did not include any relationship to Hezbollah in the incident,” and was surprised by “the statements of the judicial source, while the indictment is clear and explicit.”

From time to time, skirmishes occur between UNIFIL patrols and Hezbollah supporters in the area of ​​operations of the United Nations Interim Force in southern Lebanon. But it rarely escalates and the Lebanese authorities quickly contain it.

The UNIFIL force has been present in Lebanon since 1978, and it includes about ten thousand soldiers and is deployed in southern Lebanon to separate the Israeli occupation state and Lebanon.

(AFP, The New Arab)

2023-06-02 10:25:17
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