Over the past week, as the IDF began operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, the role of the UN forces deployed near the border has come under the spotlight.
One particular position near the border is between the Israeli border and Maroun al-Ras. In that post are a contingent of Irish troops from the Irish Defense Forces. They are part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The IDF has operated close to the post.
On October 9, the BBC reported that “Israel's armed forces have moved away from their positions near Irish troops in Lebanon, the Irish Defence Forces have confirmed.”
Irish officials view this in a positive light as reducing potential tensions. This is because the peacekeepers find themselves in a complex position. Although their post is well protected and they are trained for the complexity of this region, they are stuck between the IDF and Hezbollah in a place where fighting could intensify.
To understand the complexities facing the Irish soldiers I reached out to a retired senior officer from the Irish Defense Forces who has extensive experience in the Middle East and Africa. He knows what this is like and has been in Lebanon in the past with the UN in various postings from the 1980s to the 2000s.
Why are Irish troops in Lebanon?
The role of the Irish in Lebanon does not come in a vacuum in terms of perceptions. Ireland is seen as one of the countries that is more hostile and critical towards Israel in Europe. On social media several posts have portrayed the Irish soldiers at the UN post as sitting around while rockets are fired by Hezbollah nearby.
This may be an unfair depiction, but it spotlights the sense in Israel that the UN mission has not fulfilled its mandate in southern Lebanon.
To understand better the Irish troops deployed in Lebanon it’s worth reviewing how they got there. “The Irish first deployed to troops to Lebanon in 1978 when UNIFIL was created,” says the retired officer. UNIFIL was supposed to be an “interim” force but it has remained since the 1970s.
Originally the Irish contingent was larger than it is today with around 700 troops. They were deployed in the area around Haris, Barashit, Hadadatha, Shaqra and at the UN headquarters in Tibnin, with a small group of members at Naqoura, near the Israeli border.
After 2000, when the IDF withdrew and the current border’s Blue Line, things changed. “One of the tasks the Irish troops had as part of the withdrawal of IDF forces from Lebanon was that they had to establish bases further south from where they had been deployed north of the [Israeli] ‘security zone.’ These bases were established to confirm the IDF withdrawal,” the retired officer notes.
One of the positions they established as a post near the border is called UN Position 6-52. This is the one that is in the news because of IDF movements near Maroun al-Ras.
The position 6-52 sits on key military terrain because it looks down on the Israeli community of Avivim on the border. “When the IDF went into Lebanon last week, they recognized it once again as key terrain and built a temporary base near 6-52 with several tanks and a D-9 bulldozer,” the source notes.
The IDF’s position near the UN site was seen as a possible attempt to pressure the Irish to leave. It also put the soldiers in a complex position because if there was fighting with the IDF so close by with Hezbollah the Irish would be in the middle.
Today’s Irish forces in Lebanon have around 370 personnel. They have a base at a site called Camp Shamrock called “2-45” which is north-west of Yaroun. There are Polish forces also deployed at a site called 6-50 near Yaroun. At 6-52 near the border there are around thirty Irish troops.
In the wider area there are also Spanish, Nepalese and Italian forces in around thirty bases, with an additional 22 smaller posts near the border, the source points out.
An impossible mission
The UN force, as per UN Security Resolution 1701 was supposed perform a number of functions from confirming that the IDF had withdrawn in 2006 from Lebanon, to restoring “peace and security” as well as assisting the Lebanese government to deploy its forces to the area.
The force would monitor the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and accompany the Lebanese Armed Forces and “assist the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area.” It was also supposed to help ensure the safe return of displaced people and help ensure humanitarian access.
The UN forces thus have a kind of impossible mission. The Lebanese army isn’t willing to confront Hezbollah and Hezbollah has grown exponentially in strength since 2006. All the UN can do is sit and watch, it doesn’t have a mandate to fight Hezbollah.
"One of the main points that hasn’t been fulfilled was that Hezbollah was not supposed to be deployed south of the Litani,” the retired officer notes.
He adds that the LAF were reluctant to go into areas where Hezbollah has forces. These areas have been dubbed in the past “nature reserves.”
In 2022, Irish soldiers with the UN mission were driving in Lebanon when their vehicle was attacked by thugs linked to Hezbollah. Twenty-four-year-old Private Seán Rooney was killed.
The Irish troops in Lebanon are well-trained for their mission. However, now they find themselves in an increasingly tense area.
In the past, UN facilities have been at the center of fighting, such as a position in Khiam and also the IDF shelling of the UN headquarters at Qana in 1996. The retired officer says that there have been 47 Irish soldiers killed since 1978.
“I don’t think it suits either side to deliberately target the UN. Obviously, they could get caught in crossfire incidents. If Hezbollah engaged the IDF near 6-52, there is a possibility Irish troops could be injured in crossfire, but to deliberately fire at a UN position, I don’t think it currently suits either side,” says the retired officer.
Another issue facing the UN forces is the chance their posts could be cut off due to the fighting. The posts need fuel, water, and food supplies. In the case of a problem, the UN Liaison unit would be in contact with the IDF. “They may request that in a particular UN position they urgently need fuel and water, so they would check what is the optimum time to run that convoy,” the source notes.
'Not just a military organization'
The post at 6-52 could be affected by fighting in Maroun al-Ras. If the fighting moves closer to Bint Jbeil, that would take the pressure off this post because it would mean the IDF has moved on. If the war grows in southern Lebanon, a simple drive from one UN post to another can become difficult. What is usually a 40-minute drive, the source notes, can take days.
I asked the retired officer if he had seen Hezbollah members during his numerous postings in Lebanon. He noted that this only happened if one approached an area Hezbollah didn’t want the UN to be in; then angry-looking men in beards would appear.
“You must remember that it’s not just a military organization, it’s a political and welfare organization as well and is deeply embedded in the community,” he adds.
He also says he didn’t see Hezbollah members walking with arms. “I can count the number of times I saw armed people. I have only seen a few in 1993, but generally speaking, I haven’t come across armed guys in uniform.”
He further points out that in 2006, Hezbollah fired rockets from near a UN post at Khiam.