Irish soldiers 'holding up very well' as Israel and Lebanon exchange fire

Vivienne Clarke

The commanding officer of the 123rd Battalion of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen MacEoin has expressed full confidence in the mission of peacekeeping troops to de-escalate tensions in Lebanon.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland as the battalion prepares for their next peacekeeping rotation as part of the Unifil mission for the United Nations, Lt Col MacEoin said that they played a valuable role constantly monitoring the situation in the region.

Conditions at present were very tense and volatile, he said. There were regular exchanges of fire across the border between Lebanon and Israel. Irish soldiers were “holding up very well” and were continuing to do their job and maintaining operational focus out there.

The mandate for the Irish troops was to “maintain vigilance on the blue line and to observe, monitor and report any infractions on the blue line and elsewhere, but also to protect civilians," he explained.

“So when we have a scenario where our troops are at risk, and we have an order from our headquarters or from our own situational awareness, our soldiers may go into protective positions in bunkers which are well-prepared and designed by our military engineers, our two armoured personnel carriers.

“But it's not like we completely stop operations. We maintain vigilance. And as soon as we have the opportunity, we get back on task, and we get out doing our operations with the Lebanese armed forces to maintain a safe and secure environment for the people that are out there, the civilians.”

Lt Col MacEoin said Irish soldiers were not strangers to this type of scenario, having worked on many Unifil missions around the world.

“What we're bringing to the table is that we're very renowned peacekeepers, really, and we have the military culture, the professional competence to deal with these scenarios. So we have been in these situations before, and I dare say, unfortunately, we'll be in them again. But we're trained just for this type of scenario.”

Obviously, there was concern about an escalation in the conflict, he said, but the battalion was equipped for a tactical level of operations.

“Unifil plays an exceptionally important role as it hosts the tripartite meetings, which is really the only forum for dialogue between the two countries (Lebanon and Israel) and are constantly attempting to de-escalate the situation. We provide very, very valuable information back to the headquarters to enable that process.

"We're constantly monitoring what's going on, and I suppose we're reassuring the local population in the sense that any single act that is taken is monitored and reported by us. So, if you like, the eyes of the world are upon what's happening, and that's what Ireland is bringing to the table through its participation in Unifil.”

When asked if Unifil could provide emergency shelter for civilians, Lt Col Mac Eoin said their camps were not designed to accommodate civilians, but part of their military training was the protection of civilians, so if necessary they could do so.