Finnish base being set up on hills of Southern Lebanon

print this

An engineering company of 210 Finnish soldiers is to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday October 31st, forming a battalion with 150 troops from Ireland, and will be deployed in the United Nations crisis management operation in Lebanon. For the past ten days, a special group of around 70 Finnish and some 30 Irish pioneers have been preparing the area.
      On August 11th, the UN Security Council called for a full cessation of hostilities in the war between Israel and Hizbollah, mapping out a procedure for the phased withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces from Southern Lebanon, while up to 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers would help Lebanese troops to take control of the area.
     
Next to the Finns' six-hectare camp another base is being built by Spanish troops, while an Indian base is located on the opposite hill.
      While the Spanish contingent are responsible for the surveillance of the district, the Finns' task is to build bases and clear unexploded bombs and mines.
      Major Juha Helle, who has been given command of the Finnish unit, notes that the Finns in the area are first and foremost soldiers, while there are other organisations for humanitarian work.
      "When we build a road, we do it for our own purposes, while it will naturally benefit the locals, too", says Helle.
     
For the time being, the situation in Lebanon has been much calmer than expected, with no hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah.
      However, repeated violations of Lebanon's airspace by Israeli jets have caused a lot of annoyance. Israel, in turn, has announced that it will continue such overflights, because of continued smuggling of weapons from Syria.
     
The purpose of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is to support the Lebanese Government in extending its authority over the southern areas formerly controlled solely by Hizbollah, through Lebanon's own legitimate armed forces, such that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon.
      Major Helle expressed his content with the stronger mandate that UNIFIL has been granted.
      "UNIFIL has been degraded for 20 years", Helle argued.
      Another concern was that some Spanish soldiers apparently withdrew from their positions last week when being faced by Hizbollah.
      "I have been involved in two NATO operations myself, and in such operations, the soldiers are to do what they have to do, and never retreat", Helle concluded.
     
The Finns remain mostly in their camp, even though they sometimes have to fetch something to eat and drink from the village.
      "It looks like an ordinary village, and people are very nice. Everybody keeps offering us coffee all the time", said Sergeant Tuomo Katajainen.
      "The majority of the villagers have given us a very friendly reception. The number of those making a throat-cutting gesture can be calculated by using the fingers of one hand", Lieutenant Jukka Martikainen added.
      While welcoming the UNIFIL peacekeepers, the local people do also expect some concrete results. Many locals are worried about the regular Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Main group of Finnish Lebanon peacekeepers report for service (9.10.2006)

Links:
  The Finnish Defence Forces
  United Nations: SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR END TO HOSTILITIES BETWEEN HIZBOLLAH, ISRAEL, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1701 (2006).

Helsingin Sanomat