Helen McEntee’s trip to Lebanon cancelled following Defence Forces concern

The Minister for Defence Helen McEntee had been due to meet Irish peacekeepers deployed as part of Unifil mission

It comes after a Polish member of Ireland’s joint battalion with Poland sustained minor injuries from a “roadside device”, while three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in other blasts.

The Minister for Defence had to abandon a trip to Lebanon on security advice from the Defence Forces.

Helen McEntee had been due to meet Irish peacekeepers deployed as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) but the visit was called off following the military’s operational advice that it was “not tenable”.

The Minister had been due to travel to Beirut on Wednesday and travel to meet Unifil troups but the trip was cancelled due to the security risk. Beirut has been targetted by a series of Israeli air strikes in recent weeks since the start of Iran war.

In its latest update, the Defence Forces said all personnel in Lebanon are “well and accounted for” amid heightened clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

It comes after a Polish member of Ireland’s joint battalion with Poland sustained minor injuries from a “roadside device”, while three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in other blasts.

As the Minister’s trip got cancelled, the Defence Forces were  able to use slots and clearances it had already obtained to conduct a different flight.

The Defence Forces confirmed it carried out an operation last week to transport key battalion personnel to UN Post 2-45 in Lebanon, known as Camp Shamrock, and to return communications specialists who had been performing critical maintenance to communication systems and infrastructure.

The mission involved a young female Air Corps pilot flying the plane into the “volatile region” to rendezvous with Army personnel who conducted an armoured patrol from UNP 2-45 to Beirut Airport for the personnel and equipment handover.

It was the first such operation using the strategic reach capability of the Air Corps, following the delivery of a C295 transport aircraft last year.

Colonel Denis Hanly said it was a “force multiplier”, adding that the mission was proof of increased flexibility for the operations team, with the C295 also due to be used for personnel in Kosovo.

 Twenty-six personnel flew into the country with around 600kgs of equipment and supplies for deployed troops, while 17 travelled back.

Col Hanly said: “We wanted a Ryanair turnover – as quickly as possible, no hugs or high fives.” The handover, which involved unloading the equipment and supplies before taking off again, took 30 minutes – and the operations director said it could be done faster.

The convoy took close to four hours to return to Camp Shamrock, which is almost double what it would normally take because of the increased risk in the region.

Despite last week’s operation, a number of the personnel who had been due to return on leave were unable to do so because of the changing flight plans but remain on stand-by to return.

- Press Association