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IRISH PEACEKEEPERS STATIONED in south Lebanon are at risk of being targeted by militant jihadists, according to the Irish General who commands the UN force in the country.
More than 300 Irish soldiers currently serve in Lebanon and “the biggest concern”, according to United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Michael Beary, is the “jihadist threat”.
He told RTÉ’s This Week programme: “Definitely, we would be a target for that kind of activity because a lot of member states who are contributing to UNIFIL are part of the global coalition against ISIS, so it is something I have to be very careful with.
Our indications would certainly be that, with the retrenchment of ISIS and such groups as Nusra in Syria and in Iraq, that there is the possibility that they will seek to exit through Lebanon.
“We do know, for example, that we have Sunnite jihadists within the body of some of the Palestinian refugee camps, so we have to be extremely careful with that to ensure that it doesn’t affect the work of UNIFIL in south Lebanon.”
UN peacekeepers are stationed in south Lebanon and the UNIFIL mission monitors the ceasefire line which separates Lebanon and Israel.
Beary said that the potential return of “very hardened fighters” of the Hezbollah militant group from Syria was a worry, but hoped that initiatives put in place by UNIFIL to interact with the local communities in south Lebanon would be effective at preventing fighting in the future.
“Instead of the concept of resistance,” he said, “we try to build the concept of resistance to war”.
UNIFIL forces began to work alongside Lebanese armed forces to maintain peace in the region under a UN resolution passed after the 2006 war with Israel.
Earlier this month, civilians attacked a number of UN peacekeepers out on patrol in the region. None were injured but several vehicles were damaged.
“Civilians attempted to block the way of UNIFIL patrols and attacked the peacekeepers,” a UNIFIL statement said.
UNIFIL patrol vehicles had to push aside some civilian vehicles used as roadblocks in order to safely pull out from the locations.
Beary added that Irish peacekeepers have made a significant contribution to peace in south Lebanon since 1978.
Ireland was also not included in a recent report from the UN, which singled out countries that did not live up to their commitments on peacekeeping contributions.
With reporting from AFP - © – AFP 2017
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Congo 1961
Lebanon 1982
Leitrim 1983
Golan Heights 2015
If these armed confrontations don’t ring a bell in your memory Uisce man , then you really don’t know what you are talking about .
Don’t comment on things you know nothing about .
Apology accepted
I remember the 83 civil war in Leitrim well. The siege of Manorhamilton was especially brutal. There was no tayto allowed into the town for over 3 weeks. It was just like Stalingrad!
@Paul Devlin: you think you are being funny, you are not. A Garda and a member of the defence forces died during the event you are being “funny” about.
Let’s wish them safe home.
Omg God forbid our armed forces would ever see a real life fire fight
So this is gonna be your Sunday John?
Omg God forbid you would ever end up within an asses roar of a fire fighting
Bigly
We should take pride in that our armed forces aren’t involved in killing other people for political nonsense. Irish troops have been involved in many peacekeeping missions where they have fought to protect normal people. Ignorant and uneducated comment.
Maybe you should watch Siege at Jadotville.
Very good advice there Richard. Irish troops, for the most part have always been trained from British Army Field Manuals, the very same Manuals that conquered the world for centuries. It was a combination of Irish grit and British Army Defence Fighting Manuals that won Jadotville, just as it did at Rourke’s Drift and many other worldwide battles where the enemy came in overwhelming numbers. Anybody who doubts the pride and integrity of the Irish Defence Forces, literally hasn’t got a clue. One thing that sets the Irish Soldier apart is inherent dialogue. That’s why they are highly sought after. They can go from Peacekeepers to Peace Enforcers at the drop of a hat.
Cringing that 40 people liked John Smith’s comment
What would you know about it Civvie
Where you ever in one John?
The only firefight Smith had was a row with a sibling about poking the fire.
@John Smith: my former husband served in the Defence forces for 36 years, he served twice as a peace keeper in Lebanon and I can a sure he did see real life fire fighting. He had to even pull dead bodies of women and children from bombed cars. How dare you assume you have knowledge of what our men and women go through when keeping the peace in another country. My marriage broke up over the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and alcohol from what he witnessed over in Lebanon. People like you make me sick as you just haven’t a clue.
@Charliegrl80, well said. This guy is a joke. I’ve had mates from my unit, pulled from explosions, suffering serious injuries, other members of my unit were kidnapped and murdered. The sacrifices these guys made were extraordinary. This joker wouldnt last a week, and he should beg forgiveness for his ignorance. I hope peace returns to you and your husband. Take care.
Their experience should come in handy when the Irish jihadists return home too then. And of course we have an open border with the UK so their jihadists are our jihadists:
“Just one in eight of the 400 British foreign fighters who have travelled to Syria and since returned home has been successfully prosecuted.
Figures disclosed by the Home Office show that only 54 fighters from the UK suspected of having fought in Syria and Iraq have been convicted of an offence.
Security services estimate that since 2012, 400 British Muslims who have joined terrorist groups such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and al-Qaeda have returned to the UK.
The official statistics will raise serious concerns over the failure of the authorities to keep track of dangerous jihadists in Britain.
“We need to know why so many haven’t been prosecuted. It suggests to me that they have have simply gone off the radar while our security services try to play catch-up.”
Prof Anthony Glees
Security experts told The Telegraph how the low prosecution rate showed for the first time that many foreign fighters returning from Syria who posed a real risk were now “off the radar”.
Experts on the conflict say the number who have returned could be as high as 800 to 1,000. Some are known to have faked their own deaths and slipped back into Britain using new identities.”
“IRELAND HAS BEEN found to have the second highest per capita rate of Muslims going to fight in Syria out of a survey of 25 countries.”
@Marlowemallow: Not according to The Irish dictators in Clonskeagh, they have said there/are no jihads in Ireland or they would know about them. Before you red thumb this comment look up the meaning of taqiyya which is part of sharia.
I think my comment above was meant for John Smith …Apologies Fear Uisce
Not to worry they will be protected by Mo or Ali from Clonskeagh via Libya both of whom are doing humanitarian work , we will get the chance to see both of them on Tubridy and the Irish Times weekend
Congo
Leba
Peacekeepers are risk. That’s not exactly news is it.
Will ISIS circumcise our troops?
Val I like your posts generally Dont let yourself down
Peace keepers with guns!!
Rifles actually
have your say