Irish troops camp on Lebanese border

Irish and Ghanaian soldiers were the first UN peacekeepers to carry out the 22-year-old mandate of the Security Council by taking up permanent positions on the Lebanese-Israeli border yesterday morning.

A platoon from each of these two permanent battalions of the UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) established tented camps on strategic hilltops south of the Lebanese village of Yaroun and north of the Israeli settlement of Manara.

Near Yaroun, Israel has not yet demolished a fortified compound which straddles the border while at Manara, Israel has been building a road on the Lebanese side of the line.

The task of the Irish troops is to monitor the removal of the compound while the Ghanaians have compelled the Israelis to cease work on the road.

Thirty-eight Irish troops, accompanied by Polish engineers, crossed into northern Israel at Ras al-Nikrah and drove in armoured troop carriers along the frontier to the hill near Yaroun.

Comdt Joe McDonagh, Irishbatt's information officer, told The Irish Times that the Irish position was "on the blue line" designated by the UN "200 metres south of the fence" erected by Israel inside Lebanon.

"The only access to the Irish post will be through Israel", he said, "until Ukranian troops clear a path through the minefields" Israel laid on both sides of the fence. Ukraine contributed 650 experts to clear the zone of mines, unexploded ordnance and booby traps left behind by Israeli forces.

The limited redeployment took place 48 hours after the peacekeepers were set to move southwards, because Israel was found to have breached the frontier at several points.

The UN envoy, Mr Terje Larsen, told Israeli officials on Tuesday that "this pattern of behaviour has to be changed immediately." Beirut refuses to authorise UNIFIL's redeployment until these violations cease.

Wrangling between UN and Lebanese officers over the remaining Israeli infraction, the compound near Yaroun, continued throughout yesterday, postponing the redeployment of units from the Indian, Fijian, Finnish and Nepalese battalions. Some 500 peacekeepers have been on standby since Monday.