Latest on Al-Aqibya UNIFIL incident: International community demands justice

An Irish soldier is still in critical condition in the hospital, while the situation of the other two soldiers is improving. Still, until now, the army intelligence has not been able to listen to these two soldiers' testimony to understand better what happened in Al-Aqibya, in terms of the attack on a UNIFIL vehicle.

The incident led to the death of a 22-year-old Irish soldier, who was shot in the head. Security sources said that investigators are waiting to be able to listen to the two wounded Irish soldiers.

The Lebanese investigations are currently focusing on redrawing the scenario of what happened between the soldiers who were on board the UNIFIL vehicle and the "locals," one of whose members opened fire on the international forces' vehicle, hitting it with seven bullets, addition to the bullets that did not hit it. 

Judicial sources indicated that the bullet that killed the Irish soldier appeared to have entered from the car's back door, which was open during the shooting.

The security sources also said that the army intelligence is trying to find out the identity of the person who fired the shot and said that what happened regarding the use of weapons by the group is a serious matter and cannot be ignored.

In parallel, UNIFIL is conducting its unilateral investigation. Until now, it does not share its data and evidence with the Lebanese side, given that the investigation is still an internal investigation, during which it receives assistance from the Lebanese side. This investigation has concluded that what happened is a "crime against UNIFIL and its soldiers."

In this context, LBCI learned that a delegation from UNIFIL will meet on Tuesday with the Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, to discuss with him the details of the investigations and what UNIFIL reached.

In a development related to the investigation, a specialized Irish team of eight people, including three investigators from the Military Police, is supposed to arrive in Lebanon on Saturday to examine the circumstances of the accident and provide support to the victims, according to a spokesman for the Irish Ministry of Defense.

The issue of investigation and reaching results is the primary concern of the UNIFIL leadership and the countries participating in it. This is what the commander of the international forces focused on during his reception in Naqoura of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. The two affirmed Lebanon's commitment to ensuring protection for UNIFIL forces and guaranteeing their activities and actions in accordance with Resolution 1701.

Some may be counting on the time factor in order to cool the interest and condemnation of the attack on UNIFIL, but this path will not work this time. Rather a delay in investigations will have more negative consequences for the international community, specifically the countries that support keeping the international forces south of the Litani, led by The United States, which informed the Lebanese side of the need for the investigation to reach results and hold the perpetrators accountable.