Irish troops in Lebanon are ‘particularly needed now’, Cathal Berry has said.
Ireland has been part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon since its activation in 1978 and there are currently several hundred Irish troops stationed in the country.
Their role in the country is to help maintain the authority of the Government of Lebanon in the south of the country near Israel and supply intelligence back to UN officials.
“It’s really to patrol the blue line,” Deputy Berry told The Pat Kenny Show.
“It’s not an official frontier between Israel and Lebanon but it is a line of demarcation and their job is to provide stability there, provide reassurance and, crucially… they do provide highly accurate, highly reliable information to UN Headquarters in New York as well.”
Over the years, some 30,000 Irish troops have served in Lebanon but the deployment is never risk free; last year, Private Seán Rooney was killed while travelling in a convoy and a further three were injured.
Óglaigh na hÉireann can confirm the name of the the soldier killed on active service whilst serving in UNIFIL this morning.
869674 Private Seán Rooney, a member of the 27 Infantry Battalion and a native of Newtwoncunningham, Co Donegal.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. pic.twitter.com/j7N6l7F6i6— Óglaigh na hÉireann (@defenceforces) December 15, 2022
Despite this, Deputy Berry said Irish troops are overall “very well protected” and their presence deters any incursion from across the Lebanese border.
“They do have missiles and they do have mortars as well,” he said.
“They only use them as a last resort in self-defence but they do have the means to intervene should they wish, should the operational situation require it.”
The United Nations and the Irish flags. 16/12/2022 Image: AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari.Deputy Berry said Irish officers in Lebanon are “highly experienced people” and with neighbouring Israel waging war on Hamas, their presence is more necessary than ever.
“They’re needed at all times but they’re particularly needed in times of conflict,” he said.
“There’s 10,000 UN troops in UNFIL, drawn from about 40 different countries and this is well within the comfort zone of Irish troops.”
The UNIFIL mandate is renewed annually by the UN Security Council at the request of the Lebanese Government.
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Main image: Maj. Gen. Michael Beary reviews an honour guard of United Nations peacekeepers. Picture by: Alamy.com
