TD who served with Unifil warns end of UN Lebanon mandate would be 'catastrophic' 

Catherine Callaghan's plea comes amid concern that the UN peacekeeping operation in southern Lebanon may not have its mandate renewed next month

Irish Defence Forces soldiers at Camp Shamrock near the Lebanon-Israel border in March this year. Picture: Niall Carson/PA  

A TD who served as a peacekeeper in Lebanon has warned that a threatened discontinuation of our Unifil mandate would have a “catastrophic” impact on Ireland’s reputation.

It comes amid growing concern in Government that the UN’s peacekeeping operation in southern Lebanon, which Ireland has been involved in since 1978, may not have its mandate renewed next month.