Frontline troops battle to keep the peace in Lebanon

IRISH troops on the frontline in south Lebanon are tasked with trying to keep a lid on tensions between the warring sides boiling over and threatening a fragile peace pact.

Defence Forces are patrolling fields packed with landmines and searching for Hezbollah rockets and arms dumps. Two Irish military posts on the ‘Blue Line’ peace boundary between Lebanon and Israel act as a buffer between parts of the two nations.

Having re-taken control of the posts near militant Hezbollah-controlled towns in recent weeks, Irish United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers are aware how quickly the calmness in the surrounding fields can change to all-out fighting.