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Irish troops to serve as peacekeepers if ceasefire declared
Registration required. Here's the article. Best part is at the end about the captured Maroun er Ras by the IDFIRELAND lost 47 peacekeepers, killed during tours of duty in Lebanon since 1978. The body of one man, Private Caoimhghin Seoighe (Kevin Joyce) has never been found though Hizbollah guerillas were widely blamed for his abduction and death. Private Seoighe was taken at gunpoint from his post after gunmen shot dead his colleague Private Hugh Doherty, a 21-year-old Donegal man. The abduction of two Israeli soldiers in similar circumstances has triggered the lastest conflagration in the war-scarred region. The escalating conflict has also underlined the dangers inherent in any mission to Lebanon in a week when the return of Irish soldiers to the Middle-East was once again debated. United Nations sources in south Lebanon are reporting that the 100sq/km area which was formerly the Irish Battalion has been "laid waste" by Israeli bombardment and the remaining civilians and UN personnel in the area are running out of food and water. No vehicle has been allowed to move in the area of south Lebanon since July 12 and the Indian and Ghanaian UN peacekeepers have been surviving on emergency rations since then. They have been unable to provide any food or relief to the civilian population still caught in the area. One UN source said last week that the area of south Lebanon where the Irish served had been thrown back to the Stone Age. No journalists or observers have been able to visit the area where the most intensive bombardment has been taking place. No travel is allowed and any vehicle seen moving on the roads in the region can be attacked by aircraft. The telephone system has been destroyed. Senior UN sources have said that there is no possibility of peacekeepers operating in the area at present. Ireland is expected to be asked to provide a contribution to a force if there is any sign of a ceasefire. The Permanent Defence Forces were contacted last week by the UN and asked to prepare a bomb disposal and engineer detachment to be ready to go to Lebanon as soon as there is a break in the fighting. The Army's Ordnance Corps has probably more experience in south Lebanon than any other army and is preparing for a three-month tour of duty. They will face months of work making safe large amounts of unexploded Israeli ordnance. While the Defence Forces can provide small specialist teams at present, they are over-stretched with other UN missions in Liberia and Kosovo, and would be unable to provide a battalion-strength force in Lebanon. The Irish Battalion in Lebanon withdrew five years ago. Despite their other commitments, however, senior Irish Army sources say the long-term expectation is that the Irish Battalion, which served in Lebanon for 23 years, will be reassembled and Irish soldiers will be back in Lebanon in numbers once again. Senior UN sources said yesterday that there is still no sign of an end to hostilities and they believe that the bombardment of Hizbollah positions in south Lebanon will continue for quite some time. Despite the massive bombardment, the Israeli Defence Forces have been unable to force a withdrawal of Hizbollah, who are said to have dug a network of tunnels at key points along the Lebanese border with Israel. One of these strategic positions, Maroun er Ras, is well known to the thousands of Irish peacekeepers who served in Lebanon. It is known to the UN as 'OP (observation post) Ras', as it is one of the highest points in south Lebanon and gives soldiers a commanding view over the countryside around, including into northern Israel. The IDF sent special forces units towards OP Ras on Wednesday but they were repulsed by Hizbollah forces who appeared out of the tunnel network. The UN in Lebanon now believes that Hizbollah has spent years digging these strategic tunnels and that it will be very difficult to dislodge them. The fighting and bombardment over the past 12 days is said to be far worse than the two previous major Israeli bombardments of south Lebanon in 1993 and 1996. UN sources in the area are reporting very extensive damage to some of the towns in the former Irish Battalion, which are familiar names for the estimated 30,000 Irish soldiers who served there. One Hizbollah stronghold, the small town of Haddatah, was badly damaged in the past as the IDF responded to rocket attacks into north Israel. "This time we have heard that Haddatah has been flattened" a UN source said. He added: "There was a fairly major IDF incursion on Thursday, maybe 1,000 troops . Hizbollah has dug in around OP Ras. This is Vietcong-type stuff. We understand that hundreds of Hizbollah appeared out of side tunnels." The removal of the experienced Irish Battalion also ended the extensive intelligence network that the Irish had built up in the area. The remaining UN force, it appears, had absolutely no idea that Hizbollah spent the intervening four or five years preparing a network of underground tunnels in preparation for a renewed conflict with Israel. Posted by: Sherry 2006-07-23 |
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