Irish soldiers likely to face low level of threat during Lebanon duty

SOLDIERS leaving for the Lebanon later this month will face a low threat level despite the volatile situation, the army said yesterday.

There are no indications that Hezbollah are planning to resume the conflict which ravaged the country earlier this year and which ended in August.

And despite the presence of al-Qaida elements using parts of the Lebanon, Lebanese authorities have committed to keeping such groups under tight controls, the army said.

The news emerged yesterday as Defence Minister Willie O’Dea reviewed members of the 158-strong 34th Infantry Group based at Collins Barracks — more than half of whom are from Cork — who are due to depart for the Lebanon on October 31.

The group, including 14 females, will provide security and protection for a Finnish engineering group over their six-month tour of duty with UNIFIL.

The deployment of Irish troops will however last for 12 months with a possibility of an extension.

The 34th will also provide humanitarian assistance especially in dealing with unexploded cluster bombs dropped during the recent conflict and which have claimed 12 lives and injured hundreds.

The unit will be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Billy Harrington from Mitchelstown. The youngest member of the unit is 20-year-old Private John Manning. 40 members are beginning their first overseas tour of duty.

The Irish army first deployed to the Lebanon with UNIFIL in 1978 following the invasion by Israel.

More than 600 Irish soldiers served there until November 2001. 47 Irish soldiers have died while serving in the Lebanon.