The safety of Irish troops in Lebanon rather than the protection of civilians is “priority number one”, the Defence Forces Chief of Staff has said.
Lieut Gen Sean Clancy was answering questions about the duty of Irish peacekeepers in the Unifil (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) mission in south Lebanon to protect civilians amid deepening Israeli incursions.
Just over 300 Irish troops are stationed at two outposts near the border. On Tuesday, there was heavy fighting between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbullah just two kilometres from an Irish border outpost, resulting in heavy Israeli casualties.
The IDF has now ordered civilians in a number of settlements further north to evacuate, raising fears it intends to carry out a full-scale invasion of the country.
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Irish officers have reported some confusion about how to interpret the Unifil mandate relating to the protection of civilians.
On Thursday, while attending the annual conference of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco), Lieut Gen Clancy and Tánaiste Micheál Martin said there are clear lines of communication and that the Unifil force commander is responsible for making decisions regarding civilians.
The Chief of Staff said the peacekeeping mandate “becomes restricted” in times of conflict. He said communication between Unifil and local mayors regarding civilians is ongoing.
However, he said at the current time “force protection is priority number one. The safety of our people”. He said many civilians have already evacuated the area of operations but that there others who cannot or will not leave.
[ Israeli air strike on central Beirut medical centre kills nine, says LebanonOpens in new window ]
Mr Martin said decisions on whether to allow civilians shelter in Irish camps will be a matter for the force commander.
Both men also strongly pushed back on reports that Irish troops are running out of supplies. “We have ample supplies of water and food and common necessities,” the Chief of Staff said.
Irish bases were supplied with at least 30 days of necessities before the Israel incursions, he said.
“Morale is good. Spirits are good. People are very resolute in their role. The resilience of the soldiers there is extraordinary.”
Irish troops are due to rotate home next month. However, it is unclear if this will happen given the hostilities.
Lieut Gen Clancy said preparations to replace the Irish troops are proceeding as normal. “Conditions will dictate whether that can be exercised at that time. But we’ll address those issues as they arise.”
Regarding the evacuation of Irish civilians from Lebanon, Mr Martin said aircraft will be chartered if needed. Several EU countries have already evacuated their citizens on military aircraft, a capability Ireland lacks.
“We are scenario planning and we will be taking a number of measures to help Irish citizens or those who want to leave, to leave. We will have further details on that later,” Mr Martin said.
At the conference, the Tánaiste heard calls from Raco to implement a commitment to fund “family reunion flights” for troops serving overseas.
Earlier this year, the Government agreed to pay for one return flight per tour for overseas peacekeepers to allow them visit their families while on leave. However, the funding has yet to be made available.
“This lack of follow-through not only undermines assurances given to the men and women of the Defence Forces, but also highlights a significant gap between stated policy intent and actual support for our members and is devastating to morale,” Raco general secretary Lieut Col Conor King told the Tánaiste.
Lieut Col King also criticised a lack of Government action to tackle the number of experienced officers leaving the Defence Forces.
“This lack of retention is not just an operational issue; it is eroding the knowledge and leadership that is vital to the stability of Óglaigh na hÉireann.”
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