The overall commander of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon has said that Irish troops have a lot to do to maintain stability in their area of operations.
Spanish Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas said the recently arrived Irish UNIFIL peacekeepers had taken on a difficult assignment and would have to patrol 'hotspot' and 'sensitive' areas.
General Cuevas made his comments to Irish journalists at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura.
A full battalion of 440 Irish troops took up peacekeeping duties in Lebanon three weeks ago after a gap of ten years.
They are stationed in Tibnin, near the site of their former base at Camp Shamrock. They also have two outposts near the Blue Line boundary with Israel.
Over 30 countries are contributing troops to UNIFIL which now has 12,000 peacekeepers.
The numbers were increased over the past five years following a major flare-up between Islamic Hezbollah fighters and Israel in which 1,300 people died in 2006.
The current threat level in Lebanon is low, but the situation remains volatile and hostilities can erupt suddenly. Six Italian peacekeepers were recently injured by a roadside bomb and investigators are still trying to find a reason for the attack.
General Alberto Asarta recalled that Irish peacekeepers had previously served in Lebanon for 23 years and 47 soldiers lost their lives during that period. He said their experience on this new mission would be very valuable to him.
But the general added that Lebanon is now the calmest country in the region.
