BEIRUT(RAHNUMA): The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on Monday led a solemn tribute to a French soldier killed in a shooting incident in the country’s south, praising his “service and sacrifice” and urging an investigation into the attack.
Major General Diodato Abagnara, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), honored Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio during a ceremony at Beirut airport before his body was repatriated to France.
“We are here to honor you,” Abagnara said in remarks addressed to the fallen peacekeeper, adding that his service “lives on” through fellow soldiers and peacekeepers.
Montorio, 39, was killed on Sunday when a UNIFIL patrol clearing explosive ordnance came under small-arms fire near Ghanduriyah in south Lebanon. Three other peacekeepers were wounded, two of them seriously.
UNIFIL said the patrol had been working to re-establish access to isolated positions when it was targeted by what it described as non-state actors, with the group Hezbollah alleged to be involved. The mission has launched an internal investigation and called on Lebanese authorities to swiftly identify and prosecute those responsible.
The ceremony in Beirut was attended by senior UN and French officials, including French ambassador Hervé Magro and UNIFIL Chief of Staff Major General Paul Sanzey, who praised the soldier as embodying France’s longstanding commitment to the mission.
France has been a key contributor to UNIFIL since its establishment in 1978, deploying troops to conduct patrols, demining operations and support Lebanon’s armed forces in the country’s volatile south.
Montorio was posthumously awarded UN and Lebanese Army medals in recognition of his service. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced.
UNIFIL, created to monitor hostilities and support stability in southern Lebanon, operates in a region that has seen periodic flare-ups between Israel and Hezbollah, including cross-border exchanges of fire in recent years.
The latest incident underscores the risks faced by peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon, where tensions remain high despite a relative lull in large-scale conflict.
