King Felipe visits Lebanon to pay tribute to Spanish Peacekeeper

SPAIN’S King Felipe VI arrived in Lebanon yesterday on a visit to pay tribute to Spanish soldier, Corporal Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, who was killed by Israeli gunfire on January 28 2015.

The death of the Corporal, who was serving with United Nations peacekeeping forces, was the subject of a joint investigation between Spanish and Israeli forces. The report concluded his death was due to a ‘miscalculation’ by Israeli forces. The incident, which happened when   Hezbollah forces attacked an Israeli convoy, was the result of an Israeli counter strike launched in bad weather conditions.

King Felipe is due to travel to southern Lebanon today to visit the volatile border area. Yesterday the king was met by Lebanon’s Prime Minister Tammam Salam, where they had a meeting and formal dinner. King Felipe said that he remained committed to keeping Spain’s UNIFIL peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.

Spain maintains hundreds of troops in Lebanon as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force. Thirteen Spanish soldiers have been killed in operations in Lebanon since 2007.