LEBANON:Ireland was represented at yesterday's International Conference for Support to Lebanon by Noel Treacy, the Minister for European Affairs. He announced an additional €2 million in bilateral assistance for Lebanon, bringing the Irish contribution to over €5 million for humanitarian assistance, recovery and reconstruction following the war between Hizbullah and Israel last summer.
Mr Treacy told the conference that Ireland had participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) since its creation in 1978, and that 47 Irish soldiers had been killed there. He said the participation of a 150-strong Irish contingent in Unifil II "is testimony to our active and consistent commitment to UN peacekeeping, and to the Lebanese people". Current tensions in Lebanon "can only be addressed through national political dialogue", he added.