Army cordon protects Shannon

IN the beginning, a handful of peace activists were camped outside Shannon Airport.

The area is now surrounded by a peacekeeping force armed with Steyr assault rifles and Mowag armoured personnel carriers.

Just after breakfast yesterday, the 120-strong 12th Infantry Battalion from Sarsfield Barracks drove the 16 miles to Shannon to beef up security at the airport.

The army will be fed from Sarsfield Barracks and will receive three meals a day.

The soldiers guarding the frontline at night will get an extra serving.

The troops arrived before 9am and will remain there until the threat of further attacks on military planes abates. The battalion travelled in a convoy of 12 with heavy machine guns mounted on top of the personnel carriers.

There will be a 24-hour army presence at the airport and the force will assist the gardaí and airport police to protect military planes.

Cmdt Kieran McDaid said the force will patrol areas within and outside the six-mile perimeter fence.

It's believed the soldiers will guard the control tower, the large fuel tanks and parts of the runway at certain times.

The army has set up an office at Shannon Garda Station where officers will work closely with gardaí to secure the airport.

The famous teepees at the Peace Camp were taken down by a handful of volunteers yesterday afternoon. Inside a caravan two anti-war protesters cooked their final few grains of rice before waving goodbye.

Just after the army entered the airport, about five campaigners began packing the camp away. The mood was far more relaxed than it had been earlier in the week.

“We've spent the morning taking it apart. This wood and stuff will be brought back to the peace house down the road,” Lawrence Fenton (22) said.

Mr Fenton who is a PhD student at UCC said he believes that peaceful anti-war protests at Shannon will continue.

He also said many of the protesters will go back to their day jobs for a while: “I don't know what's going to happen but there will be something else to replace the camp. I don't know what exactly but there will be protests.”

The peace house where activist Tim Hourigan is based will continue to monitor US military planes landing in the airport.

The anti-war campaigners claim the army was deployed to protect Shannon, because it has become a terrorist target.