Second French peacekeeper dies in Lebanon after ambush blamed on Hezbollah
Anicet Girardin is the third French soldier to die since the start of the fighting in the Middle East
A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said.
A first soldier, staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was shot dead in the Saturday ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
“Corporal Anicet Girardin … brought home yesterday from Lebanon, where he was badly wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning of the consequences of his wounds,” Macron posted on X.
One of three soldiers hurt in the same attack, Girardin, a member of a specialist dog-handling unit, was part of a mission “to clear a route booby-trapped with an improvised explosive device”, Armies Minister Catherine Vautrin posted on X.
“Coming under sustained fire from concealed Hezbollah fighters at very close range, he moved to aid his section leader who had just fallen, only to be seriously hit in turn,” she added.