Kenny visits Beirut as troops on high alert

Irish peacekeeping troops on the frontline in Lebanon are on high alert for the possibility the Syrian civil war will engulf the area, military chiefs have revealed, as Enda Kenny becomes the first Taoiseach in 15 years to visit the danger zone.

Mr Kenny was meeting the Lebanese prime minister, Tammam Salam, in Beirut today before heading south to the Israeli border and occupied Golan Heights area as events in Iraq plunged the region further into turmoil.

With Ireland’s death toll during its UN mission in Lebanon standing at 47, army top brass are vigilant about the threat of the Syrian civil war crossing the border which is just 40km from the main base — home to 181 Irish peacekeepers.

Commandant Colin Miller said the ethnic mix of the area is a major factor.

“There is concern, I think it’s fair enough to say that. It’s openly known and Hizbollah have acknowledged that they are fighting for Assad in Syria.

“They are fighting against the Free Syria Army which is mostly made up of Sunnis and this is a Shia-dominated area and it would be a possible target.

“Obviously, on the humanitarian side, we would help the locals instantly with medics and ambulances. Maybe we could help them with crisis management but the primary role is still with supporting the Lebanese armed forces.

“There is some very clear high-profile security and there is some more subtle stuff as well. Everything is being watched and a bit more so in recent days.

“There would be no vehicles moving through the area.

“The biggest fear would be you would have a vehicle with a car bomb that they have had in Beirut,” he said.

Lieutenant Jim Murray, 27, from Dublin Hill, Cork, studied the crusades as part of his history degree, and was keeping an ear on the Cork-Clare GAA game at the UN outpost on the Israeli-Lebanese border yesterday. The 28 personnel at the splinter camp Lt Murray commands leave the small frontier post for local patrols 10-12 times a week, but are at a constant state of alert.

“We have to be ready to move out within 10 minutes if anything happens.

“I studied the crusades and there is history all around you here,” Lt Murray said. The UN outpost is on the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon which is heavily mined. The area took a heavy pounding during Israeli attacks in 2006 and has seen Iranian money flow in to help rebuild it since then.

Mr Kenny, who took on the defence portfolio when Alan Shatter was forced to resign, used the visit to announce an extra €2m in emergency funding to help the estimated one million Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Mr Kenny was travelling to the HQ of the joint Finnish/Irish Battalion in south Lebanon for a briefing on the UN mission.

The last Taoiseach to visit the troops was Bertie Ahern in 1999. “Their [Irish soldiers’] commitment and loyalty to the traditions of the Defence Forces on overseas service contributes extensively to the high regard in which Ireland and Irish peacekeepers are held throughout the world,” Mr Kenny said.

The Taoiseach was also attending a wreath-laying ceremony in Tibnin at a site dedicated to the memory of the 47 Irish personnel who have died while serving with the UNIFIL mission since it was first established in 1978.