Government not considering withdrawal of hundreds of Irish peacekeepers from southern Lebanon
But Micheal Martin insisted that Ireland’s number one priority was ensuring the protection of the 380 Irish soldiers in the United Nations’ UNIFIL mission
Tanaiste Micheal Martin has insisted the government is not considering the withdrawal of almost 400 Irish peacekeepers from southern Lebanon – despite fierce clashes there between Israel and Hezbollah.
But he also insisted that Ireland’s number one priority was ensuring the protection of the 380 Irish soldiers in the United Nations’ UNIFIL mission there.
Fears have been heightened for the soldiers after Israel invaded parts of southern Lebanon to take on Hezbollah fighters – including areas in Ireland’s zone of responsibility.
READ MORE: Taoiseach calls for peace in Lebanon as hundreds of Irish soldiers are caught up in fighting
The fighting has led to Irish troops being confined to their camps and regularly having to take shelter in protected bunkers – which means they cannot patrol areas they are supposed to monitor and police.
But when asked by the Mirror today if the government was now considering the evacuation of the Irish blue helmets, he replied: "No, not at this stage.” But he added: “Force protection is our number one priority.
“Our fundamental focus now is on the protection of our troops on the ground and of our people on the ground, given what is happening.” And he said decisions on Ireland’s participation would be taken in agreement with other countries in the UNIFIL force.
He said: “We are part of a wider, 10,000 force made up of quite a number of troop contributing countries. “We are all part of a wider UN peacekeeping in different parts of the world and so we operate under that common command. We will work with the authorities, keep everything under review in terms of how the situation progresses.”
And, speaking at the annual conference of military officers body RACO in Tullow, Co Kildare, Mr Martin – who is minister for defence as well as foreign affairs – also said the government would charter passenger flights to get stranded Irish citizens out of Lebanon through Beirut if necessary.
“At the moment, very few commercial flights but the airport is still operating and if we need to charter we will,” he said. And he indicated that Ireland would work with other countries on any plan – including the United Kingdom.
He said: “We have advised all of the Irish citizens for a number of months now to leave Lebanon. We were always concerned the situation would turn for the worse. We are scenario planning and we will be taking a number of measures to help Irish citizens or those who want to leave, to leave.
“We have a memorandum of understanding with the UK, but they have thousands of citizens in Lebanon as indeed do other European states.
“But we will work in coordination with European Union member states in respect of helping civilians to leave. At the moment, very few commercial flights but the airport is still operating and if we need to charter we will. We have taken preparatory steps on all of those fronts.
“We will work with other members states and we will coordinate our activities because Europe works in concert together now and Ireland and the UK being close neighbours, we generally work together on matters of this kind.”
Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
