Irish PM seeks 'accountability' over soldier killing

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin has expressed "annoyance and anger" at the pace of the justice system over the death of an Irish soldier on a UN peacekeeping mission in 2022.

Private Seán Rooney was in an armoured UN vehicle which came under fire while travelling to Beirut on 14 December 2022.

The 24-year-old was the first Irish soldier to die while on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon in more than 20 years. Three others were injured in the incident.

In July, Mohammad Ayyad was sentenced to death for his role in the deadly attack, however he was not in court at the time and is still at large, which Martin has criticised.

A total of six people were convicted of involvement in the killing.

The taoiseach made the comments after an official visit to Lebanon on Saturday with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

"Accountability means that the people responsible for the death of Seán Rooney are brought to justice, proper justice, the sentencing was extremely lenient and the people are at large," Martin said.

While in the country's capital, Beirut, Martin also asked for an update on the investigation into an attack on Irish peacekeepers in south Lebanon two weeks ago.

Martin said the commander and the patrol dealt with the attack professionally, and in this case the Lebanese government arrested a number of suspects quickly.

Martin also met about 300 Irish members of Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, at Camp Shamrock in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.

Next December, the Unifil mission in Lebanon will come to an end and Irish soldiers, along with the rest of their UN counterparts, will withdraw.