UNIFIL handed over a number of equipment and other accessories to the Naqoura Municipality, which hosts the UN Mission’s Headquarters in south Lebanon. This donation is part of UNIFIL’s broader effort to assist the local population and communities in the common fight against the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

As UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said: “During these trying times, it’s imperative to care for one another.” And he added: “The unprecedented situation requires exceptional measures, maximum cooperation as well as a pro-active approach in assisting the local population that has welcomed us since 1978.”

The donated items today included 750 surgical masks, 10 N95 masks, 300 pairs of ordinary gloves, 30 pairs of heavy-duty gloves, 10 protective suites and 10 shoe covers.

After receiving the items, Mayor Abbass Awada thanked UNIFIL for the support while stressing that the Municipality is doing its best to contain the spread of the virus.

“This is the time to work all together shoulder-to-shoulder in fighting COVID-19,” he said. “The Municipality of Naqoura is continuing its efforts and measures aimed at fighting the spread of the virus and urges residents to stay home.”

On UNIFIL’s part, the Mission, from the very beginning of the virus outbreak, has taken all the necessary precautionary measures to prevent any infection of the virus among the Mission’s more than 11,000 military and civilian peacekeepers as well as the host populations.

Despite the difficult situation, UNIFIL continues to carry out its operational activities 24/7 in coordination with the LAF in order to ensure stability along the Blue Line.

Source:  https://unifil.unmissions.org/unifil-donation-naqoura-municipality-fight-covid-19

The COVID-19 Coronavirus might have shaken the daily lives world over, but there is no let-up in UNIFIL operational activities in south Lebanon. By adopting full precautionary measures put in place by the Mission from the very beginning of the outbreak, UNIFIL peacekeepers continue their work round the clock.

One of such UNIFIL units is the Task Force ITALAIR, which forms the Mission’s helicopters component. Italian peacekeepers of this unit patrol and monitor UNIFIL’s vast area of operations, and provide transport and emergency evacuation supports when needed.

ITALAIR assets are vital to ensure that UNIFIL peacekeepers have the support and mobility they need on the ground.

Its flight squadron commander, Captain Giuseppe Genovese, is proudly serving the Mission for the second time in the past years – this time with bigger responsibilities.

“I have an enormous responsibility this second time around, as I now manage all helicopters, and its crew for all missions we conduct,” he said. “I feel very proud to be serving with the UN again with a stronger role.”

Equipped with 6 AB 212 twin-turbine helicopters and 46 Italian military personnel at the moment, ITALAIR has been supporting daily air and ground operations since July 1979, a year after UNIFIL itself was established. These helicopters have day and night flight capabilities, a self-protection system and an estimated flight range of almost two hours.

“Extremely unique capability indeed,” according to Major Antonio D’Anna, an ITALAIR pilot serving UNIFIL for the sixth time. For Major D’Anna, his passion for flying and serving with the Mission is driven by a gratifying experience in the air while serving for peace.

“I have spent in the last nine years, more or less, three years of my life here serving in south Lebanon, and I am deeply proud and committed to do so, because I can give my contribution to bring peace and stability to this part of the world, and most of all, to help the Lebanese people,” said Maj. D’Anna.

He said the most fulfilling and inspiring part of this experience are the unique challenges that come from flying in such a beautiful landscape and the country such as Lebanon. “When I am on duty, flying in the south of Lebanon, I witness every day, the beauty of this vast land that truly deserves to find sustainable peace,” he concluded.

Lt. Sebastiano Colopi, UNIFIL ITALAIR Task Force Maintenance Chief, has also joined the Mission for the second time, now with greater levels of responsibilities.

“With this new role with increased responsibilities of authorizing each flight, I am constantly thinking about the safety and compliance of the helicopters, but also and first of all about the safety of our pilots, our technicians and our passengers,” he explained.

He is proud about what ITALAIR has achieved. “Especially, because with our work, we are able to bring some peace and stability to the population of south Lebanon, whom have gone through many wars in the past,” he added.

In its nearly 41 years of service in south Lebanon, ITALAIR has completed approximately 43,000 flight hours, transported 175,100 passengers, carried out 1,275 medical evacuations for a total of 49,750 flight missions (as at 25 March 2020).

Italy is the second major contributor of troops to UNIFIL with some 1,100 peacekeepers deployed to support the Mission’s mandate.

Source: https://unifil.unmissions.org/italair-unifil%E2%80%99s-wings-peace-serving-south-lebanon 

The Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, declared on Monday that it was advancing on the “heart of Tripoli”, nearly a year since it launched its operation to rid the capital of terrorist and criminal militias loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), like reported by aawsat.com.

The military was closer now, more than ever, in claiming victory in the battle it kicked off in April 2019 as it advanced on the Abou Selim neighborhood.

The move takes it one step closer to the GNA headquarters, Tripoli sea port and the central bank of Libya. Victory was expected next week.

Commander of one of the Tripoli battlefronts told Asharq Al-Awsat that relative calm had returned on Monday, a day after fierce fighting that allowed the LNA to advance on central Tripoli.

“Our forces advanced on the Abou Selim front and captured important positions,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity. Two commanding members of pro-GNA militias were killed in the fighting.

“This is significant progress because it means our forces are close to reaching the heart of the capital and infiltrating deeper into it because residents of the area support the LNA,” he added.

“The coming hours will carry good news,” he stressed without elaborating.

Separately, the LNA said that its chemical unit had started disinfecting several positions it had seized from pro-GNA militias in the al-Mashrou and al-Hadaba areas as part of precautions against the new coronavirus.

The French Navy has intercepted a Turkish ship transporting anti-aircraft missile systems for Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA)

The French frigate Provence forced the Turkish cargo ship to change course after the latter switched off its transporter in a move that raised suspicions of the French navy, it said.

Turkey is the main backer of Libya’s U.N.-recognised GNA, and its earlier shipments of armoured vehicles and drones have helped the Tripoli-based government withstand an offensive launched last April by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA).

The BBC earlier this month reported that Turkey sent arms to Libya and violated a United Nations arms embargo on the war-torn country, citing satellite images and footages obtained by its investigation team.

A team of UNIFIL’s Italian and Malaysian peacekeepers partnered with a local youth group recently in organizing an intense month-long educational therapy treatment programme for children with learning disabilities in the Al Bassma Center in the village of Qana in south-western Lebanon.

Composed of UNIFIL peacekeepers with occupational therapy, special education and psychological skills as well as dogs, this programme provided arts and animal-assisted therapy for children and adolescents with disabilities.

Working with local organizations and partners that offer services to children with disabilities has been part of UNIFIL’s Sector West priorities to better serve their host communities, as part of their Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) activities.

For Maj. Emanuela Scuderi, an Italian peacekeeper and the manager of this programme, working together with local partners and encouraging local actors to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy equal access to basic services is extremely important and was the main goal of this project.

“The aim of this project is to better understand the needs of children with disabilities working together with the Al Bassma Center,” she said. “We are helping them build their psychosocial skills so they can improve their relationship with the outside world, so this programme does benefit their community as a whole and in that sense, it is an investment for sustainable peace.”

As a UNIFIL Sector West Gender Advisor, she also believes this type of programmes are great for the future of these children who are the most vulnerable part of the population. “We have used some of our most specific assets like psychologists and psychomotor support specialists, and we are also working with dogs,” she added.

Maj. Scuderi emphasized that programmes like this one can give these children the keys to unlock their full potential.

Lieutenant Chiara Moriglia, another Italian peacekeeper and a psychologist, said that animals have been an important part of mental health care settings for decades and their service has provided a variety of resources for occupational therapy practitioners about using animal assisted therapy in practice.

“Pet-facilitated psychosocial therapies and most specially, the use of dogs in the case of this programme, can help children with disabilities to reduce their level of anxiety, depression and also helps them to better manage their emotions.”

Pet therapy, more precisely with dogs, has helped out at hospitals, schools, emergency situations and disasters sites with people and children with learning difficulties and developments disabilities.

Eto is a UNIFIL mine detection peacekeeper dog that has been trained to behave well in these psychotherapist sessions. His dog handler, Sgt. Maj. Andrea Guidi, who is also a UNIFIL Italian peacekeeper, guided him well during the interaction with the children.

“Eto was very good with the children with physical, psychological and communication impairments at all times.” he explained.

Sgt. Maj. Guidi has witnessed “significant” improvements since the beginning of this programme.

“At first, it was very difficult for the kids to just see the dogs, but later on, they were all able to walk with them with the leash, pet them, giving them biscuits and brushing their fur,” he said. “When the children have struggles like depression, anxiety or sadness, Eto cheers up a kid in a positive way and it is immediate. Kids with struggles seek him out purposefully.”

A teacher at Al-Bassma Center, Iman Kourani, acknowledged the importance of this programme. “Many children and people with disabilities and special needs sometimes are not able to express their feelings,” she stated. “But with this activity, they have improved their social and learning skills significantly.”

Building capacity and knowledge on the rights of persons with disabilities among peacekeepers and peacebuilding actors, and empowering persons with disabilities in conflict and post-conflict situations is one of the main goals of UN Security Council Resolution 2475 adopted on 2019, which urges Member States to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination and marginalization of persons on the basis of disability.

According to the World Health Organization, over a billion people, which is about 15 per cent of the world’s population, have some form of disability.

Source: https://unifil.unmissions.org/employing-dogs-unifil-peacekeepers-help-children-learning-disabilities

The Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has continued targeting Turkish forces in the country by bombing the military base inside Mitiga International Airport, like reported by aawsat.com.

For the second consecutive day, violent explosions were heard on Sunday in the vicinity of the base, east of Tripoli.

LNA artillery targeted on Saturday evening an air defense system, destroying a warehouse for military equipment belonging to Fayez al-Sarraj’s Special Deterrence Force.

According to the LNA, Turkish forces fighting alongside Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) and their armed militias are using Mitiga as a permanent base for military operations.

The LNA’s Military Information Division released video footage showing civilian homes in Tripoli destroyed in militia attacks.

“After failing to win the battle and losing their bases, the militias once again violated the international ceasefire and targeted residential areas and neighborhoods in Qasr bin Ghashir, breaching human rights laws,” the Division explained.

It pointed out that the militias seek to hold the LNA accountable for its actions, which are punishable by international law.

The LNA information office has released footage of what appeared to be an announcement of the participation of Tariq bin Ziyad Brigade in the battle to liberate Tripoli.

It pointed to the “LNA forces’ ability to carry out all the tasks assigned to them in a highly efficient and professional manner to defend the country and its sovereignty, and preserve its capabilities and gains.”

Meanwhile, local residents and eyewitnesses said Sunday four buses carrying mercenaries loyal to Turkey passed near Tajura neighborhood, east of Tripoli.

Brigadier General Khaled al-Mahjoub, an LNA official, announced Saturday in televised remarks that “about 142 pro-Turkey mercenaries were killed in Tripoli battles.”

He said Sarraj’s GNA and Turkey are being secretive.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported that the number of pro-Turkish factions killed in the Libyan battles rose to 117.

It quoted sources as saying that they were killed in the clashes on several fronts in Tripoli, indicating that about 150 fighters among those who headed to Libya, are now in Europe.

The SOHR also announced a rise in the number of those arriving in the capital to take part in the battles.

A suicide bomber has blown himself up near the US embassy in Tunisia, according to reports.

The blast is believed to have occurred 150 metres away from the walls of the embassy in the capital Tunis.

Pictures from the scene show the wreckage of a vehicle with debris scattered across a road block.

It is not yet clear if there are any casualties.

Police pushed back a gathered crowd and have established a crime scene.

Last year, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the capital of Tunisia with one person dead.

A terror attack in Sousse in Tunisia in June 2015 by Seifeddine Rezgui left 38 holidaymakers dead – 30 of whom were British.

UNIFIL Chinese Medical Company handed over 20 varieties of medicines to the Ibil al-Saqi Municipality last week following request that the village dispensary was facing “acute shortage” of certain drugs.

On 26 February, the Commander of the Chinese Hospital in Ibil al-Saqi, Lieutenant Colonel Li Ruzhen, handed over the medicines – mainly for respiration and digestion problems, and external use – to Kamal Monzer, who is responsible for the village dispensary.

Built in 2007, this Hospital run by UNIFIL Chinese peacekeepers offers free medical support to both fellow peacekeepers and members of the host community.

Between their core peacekeeping duties, UNIFIL peacekeepers regularly carry out various activities like this one in support of and as requested by the host communities, which – together with their operational activities – have helped keep calm in the Mission’s area of operation for over 13 years.

Source: https://unifil.unmissions.org/unifil-chinese-hospital-donates-medicines-village-dispensary

UNIFIL French peacekeepers recently organized an awareness day with the UN Mission’s strategic partner, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), on the dangers posed by mines, cluster munitions and improvised explosive ordnances.

The 20 February event saw both theoretical and practical sessions. French deminers from the UNIFIL Force Commander’s Reserve (FCR) also presented the mine detection equipment and tools they have available during their missions.

The participants were able to test the non-magnetic probe with Sergeant Loïc, group leader within the FCR combat engineer’s section.

“The probe that we use is very sensitive and makes it possible to detect the presence of mines. Depending on the experience and dexterity of the sapper, we will be able to differentiate the type of object probed, for example if it is a smooth or grainy surface, if the object probed is malleable or solid,” he said. “This requires the sapper a lot of concentration and a great rigour to probe the ground with meticulousness.”

In another workshop, Sergeant Romain highlighted the fundamentals that each soldier must master when a mine is detected in his/her area: “If a mine is discovered, we consider that the entire area is susceptible to be polluted. We then apply the technique of the ‘turning square’ which allows soldiers to leave the danger zone in safety.”

The UNIFIL-LAF cooperation around demining dates back to 2006. In the wake of the summer war that year and till 2010, UNIFIL deminers conducted humanitarian demining in order to protect civilians and to facilitate safe access to dwellings and agricultural land. Due to operational requirements of its mandate, these activities were suspended in 2010.

But after a decade, UNIFIL and the LAF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 30 January 2020 allowing for the two forces to enhance cooperation in humanitarian demining within the UN Mission’s area of operation.

The MoU sets out a framework of cooperation for UNIFIL assistance to humanitarian demining operations carried out by the LAF’s Lebanon Mine Action Centre (LMAC).

Despite progress, large swathes of land in south Lebanon are still contaminated with landmines.

UNIFIL French peacekeepers conduct patrols daily in coordination with the LAF, and can sometimes be confronted with remnants of war (mines and explosives). Raising awareness of the risks and the procedures applied in the event of danger therefore remain necessary to preserve the safety of soldiers.

Source: https://unifil.unmissions.org/%E2%80%98awareness-day%E2%80%99-laf-overcome-dangers-mines

UNIFIL’s French and Spanish peacekeepers participated in the RITEX exercise (Reserve Integration Training Exercise) during which the entire combat rescue chain was mobilized in order to develop the interoperability of medical teams of the Mission’s French and Spanish contingents.

Deployed near the main Spanish base, near Marjayoun in south-eastern Lebanon, the soldiers of the French-led Force Commander Reserve (FCR) of UNIFIL participated in exercise with the aim to strengthen their capacity to maneuver with the UNIFIL contingents of other nationalities.

As part of this large-scale exercise, one of the scenarios included taking care of an injured person.

“The FCR must be able to intervene throughout the UNIFIL area of operation, it is therefore necessary to carry out this type of exercise regularly in order to test the means of communication between the different chains of command and learn to coordinate well,” said Lieutenant Colonel Pierre, chief of operations within the tactical command post of FCR.

Doctor Claire, in charge of controlling the rescue exercise, followed all the stages of treatment. She said: “This exercise makes it possible to repeat the entire rescue chain in combat, from the first echelon with the soldiers who practice the gestures of first aid, passing by the medical auxiliaries and the nurse who stabilize the wounded in order to transport him to the doctors of the Spanish Role 1, to the medical teams in charge of his evacuation by helicopter.”

In the end, the exercise made it possible to highlight the excellent relations with the Spanish contingent as well as the perfect reactivity and coordination of the medical teams of the two countries within the framework of the evacuation of the wounded.

UNIFIL currently has some 10,300 peacekeepers from 45 countries serving for peace in south Lebanon. Of them, 666 are from France and 635 from Spain.