The Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister met with Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon today.

Charlie Flanagan was briefed with the ongoing work of UNIFIL, the current security situation and the impact of the Syrian conflict.

The visit is part of a week-long trip to the Middle East by the Minister which will also take in Israel, Palestine and Jordan.

Minister Flanagan laid a wreath at a memorial to the 47 Irish peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving with UNIFIL.

“Laying a wreath today at the memorial... served as a reminder at once of the importance of their work, and the dangers that go with it," Minister Flanagan said. "The death of a Spanish peacekeeper at the end of January has brought that danger home forcefully to all of us.

“I want to acknowledge too that it is not just the soldiers themselves who live with this danger, but their spouses, children, parents and friends at home in Ireland,” he added.