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A second French soldier has died from wounds sustained in the Hezbollah ambush in southern Lebanon that killed Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday.
He identified the deceased as Corporal Anicet Girardin of the 132nd Cynotechnical Infantry Regiment of Suippes, who had been repatriated to France after sustaining serious injuries and died Wednesday morning.
Macron announced the death on X in a formal statement.
"Corporal Anicet Girardin of the 132nd Cynotechnical Infantry Regiment of Suippes, repatriated yesterday from Lebanon where he had been seriously wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning from his injuries. He died for France," he said.
"The Nation, which will pay tribute tomorrow to Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio who was mortally wounded in the same ambush, salutes with emotion the memory of Corporal Anicet Girardin and his sacrifice. It also sends its most sincere thoughts and profound compassion to his family, his loved ones, and to the families of the other wounded. It pays tribute to the exemplary commitment of our armed forces within UNIFIL, who work with courage and determination in the service of France and peace in Lebanon," Macron wrote.
Girardin is the fifth UNIFIL peacekeeper killed this year.
Three Indonesian peacekeepers died last month, a preliminary U.N. investigation found one was killed by Israeli tank fire while two others were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) likely planted by Hezbollah.
UNIFIL has also recorded other incidents involving Israeli forces: in April, Israeli soldiers destroyed surveillance cameras at UNIFIL's headquarters, and last week an Israeli tank twice rammed peacekeeping vehicles, causing damage but no injuries.
UNIFIL's mandate concludes at the end of this year.
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