Irish troops going to Middle East for peacekeeping duties face 'volatile' situation

Soldiers firing a Javelin missile system during a deployment mission readiness exercise for the 123rd Infantry Battalion at Coolmooney Camp in Glen of Imaal, Co Wicklow, earlier this month, ahead of their deployment to Lebanon.

For Irish troops heading to the UN peacekeeping line between Israel and Lebanon, these are uncertain times.

But there are no more experienced peacekeepers in the world, with Irish troops repeatedly lauded by the UN since they first set foot in the Congo in the early 1960s.