BEIRUT: A Lebanese military court has sentenced a man to death in absentia for the killing of an Irish United Nations peacekeeper in 2022, a judicial official confirmed on Tuesday. The case involved the fatal shooting of Private Sean Rooney, 23, during an attack on a UN convoy in southern Lebanon, a region dominated by the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The judicial official, speaking anonymously, stated that the court issued its ruling late Monday, imposing the death penalty on the primary defendant, Mohammad Ayyad. The sentence was delivered in absentia, as Ayyad had been released from custody in November 2023 for health reasons and failed to attend subsequent trial sessions.
Four other individuals received combined fines and lighter sentences after surrendering to the court hours before the session, while a fifth was acquitted. The 2022 incident marked a rare escalation in tensions between UNIFIL patrols and Hezbollah supporters, though such clashes are typically contained swiftly by Lebanese authorities.
UNIFIL, comprising around 10,000 peacekeepers from nearly 50 nations, operates as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, primarily along the southern border. Hezbollah has previously denied involvement in the attack. – AFP
