Lebanon: interview with Brigadier General Stefano Del Col

19/03/15

The Italian Armed Forces are engaged in southern Lebanon on the basis of what is sanctioned by resolutions n. 425 of 19 March 1978, n. 1701 of the 11 August 2006 and the n. 1832 of the 27 August 2006 of the United Nations Security Council.

Italy is part of the multinational force called UNIFIL by 1978 and operates along the "armistice" line, which separates Lebanon and Israel, called "Blue Line". Before the July / August crisis began, 2006 UNIFIL was tasked with verifying both the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the southern border of Lebanon and the government's assistance in re-establishing its authority in the area.

Following the well-known 2006 events, the aforementioned tasks were joined by support for the Lebanese armed forces in the deployment in the south of the country, assistance to the population and monitoring of the cessation of hostilities in the area between the "Blue Line" and the Litani river. In particular, the Italian Blue Helmets have been given command of one of the sectors of UNIFIL, the West Sector with approximately 1100 men and women, together with the contingents of other 11 nations for a total military 3500, form a multinational operational model with the responsibility to ensure the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, assist the Lebanese armed forces in order to allow them an adequate and effective control of the territory aimed at preventing events that could cause a resurgence of hostilities as well as supporting the population so that it can restart a lasting peace .

On the decision of the United Nations, Italy took over the UNIFIL mission three times, the first was General Claudio Graziano, from the 2007 to the 2012, the current Chief of Defense Staff, the second the General of Division Paolo Serra , from the 2012 to the 2014 that succeeded the 24 July 2014, the general of Division Luciano Portolano. This alternation of senior Italian general officers commanding the mission from the 2012 represents a prestigious certificate of esteem and confidence for the active role played by Italy in promoting the stability and security of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern area.

More than 10.000 soldiers from the following countries participate in the UNIFIL mission: Armenia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, El Salvador, France, Finland, Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Ghana, Greece , Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Qatar, Korea, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Turkey, divided into two sectors, Spanish-led east while an Italian guide to the west. The command of the national force is allocated at the base dedicated to the "Ten. Millevoi" in Shama (headquarters of the West Sector Command of UNIFIL), while the unit of maneuver, the operative arm, are located between the Al Mansouri bases and the advanced operational bases along the "Blue Line".

Currently the Joint Task Force - Lebanon Sector West UNIFIL, from 13 October 2014, is mainly based on the “Pinerolo” Brigade of Bari, with the command entrusted to Brigadier General Stefano Del Col, a general officer of the Bersaglieri already engaged in Lebanon when in the 2008 commanded the 8 ° Bersaglieri Regiment.

The Sector West Multinational Command is responsible for managing the maneuvering and support units provided by other nations such as: Ireland, Ghana, Korea, Finland, Brunei, Malaysia, Slovenia, Tanzania as well as Serbian and Armenian soldiers who exclusively security tasks of the bases.

During the realization of our report we had the opportunity to interview the commander of the Sector West of UNIFIL, Brigadier General Stefano Del Col.

"The Blue Line, often mistakenly considered by some to be a border line, represents the withdrawal line of the Israeli Armed Forces of the 2000 which overlaps, for a good part, a line that was called a green line existing before the conflict.

In our sector it is very well defined while, in the East Sector with Spanish leadership, the same situation does not exist because of the presence of disputed areas that are the subject of discussion in the Tripartite monthly meetings, organized and managed by the Head of Mission and Force Commander, General of the Luciano Portolano Division.

In our area of ​​responsibility, from the UN position 1-32 Alfa, where the Tripartite takes place, to the last location of the Finaldese-Irish driving sector, there are about 55 km of "Blu Line" and, as I said earlier , turns out to be very well defined, therefore, we have no concerns related to disputed areas. Among the activities aimed at verifying the cessation of hostilities, the gravitation of our units is along the "Blue Line". Even the Israelis, south of this virtual line connecting all the blue pillars, carry out along the road network, in their own territories, or a continuous control of the "Blue Line". In summary, the blue line should not be considered a political-administrative boundary because there is no peace treaty between the two countries. Since there is no peace treaty, UNIFIL will have to guarantee the provisions of the 1701 resolution ".

In the UNIFIL area of ​​responsibility there are refugee camps of Syrians, could this increase the tension between the parties?

"I understand the concern that could generate such a high number of refugees. According to UNHCR estimates, there are about 41 thousand Syrian refugees in our sector. These numbers vary very little compared to what was communicated to us by the mayors even if we believe the official numbers reported by the United Nations agency. The Syrians, until today, have not given any concern. They are controlled by the mayors of the municipalities. A few months ago we organized, together with the Italian embassy, ​​a race called "Vivicittà" which was attended by Palestinians, Lebanese and even Syrians. The route, a couple of kilometers, was built in the city of Tire (Tire). We have been able to test that there is mutual respect and are fairly integrated, in fact, many live in houses, especially in Tire, while in other areas are housed in structures organized by mayors and monitored by the United Nations. For the moment I have to say that we do not have the feeling of a greater risk due to the presence of Syrian refugees.

They are controlled by the local authorities, the Lebanese armed forces and other Lebanese organizations responsible for such activities ".

What about the Palestinian refugee camps, what can you say?

"In our sector there are three Palestinian refugee camps that are denied access in accordance with an agreement signed in Cairo between the Lebanese Government and the Palestinian Authority in 1964, which denies the Lebanese armed forces, Lebanese citizens and others to enter.

A United Nations agency is responsible for checking and improving, where possible, the quality of life inside. They are well organized, have an administrative structure, a control structure, most of them go out in the morning to perform various work activities on the territory returning in the evening. They are authorized by the Government of Lebanon to perform only certain types of work. The fields in our sector did not give rise to problems while in other areas, outside our operation zone, there were problems. We remember, in the 2007, a very famous case occurred in northern Lebanon, near Nared Bareid, where the Lebanese armed forces entered the camp because it had revealed a situation of instability that we could call explosive.

As aforesaid they have an internal control structure but it is clear that, should a situation of particular tension occur within the camp, the armed forces of Lebanon, appointed to control the territory, would be the only ones able to intervene ".

intense or with scales of different intensity in their own territory, given that both religious confessions and refugees from Palestine and Syria insist on it ".

Is there a possibility that Jadist cells will be born that penetrate into Lebanon?

"The crystal ball has none. We respond to the control of the territory, without entering the refugee camps in which we do not have competence, and the subsequent verification of the absence of arms is fundamental to ensure the monitoring of the cessation of hostilities, one of the tasks assigned by the 1701 resolution ". Our area of ​​operation is well bounded by a UN Security Council resolution that we absolutely can not do anything outside of this area. One of the evidences of what happens outside of southern Lebanon is the presence of the Lebanese armed forces deployed to the north and east of the country. In our area of ​​operations both joint operational activities with the LAF are carried out, as well as autonomous operating activities which, often, are clearly more numerous than the joint ones.

Is there fear of an eventual advance in Lebanon of ISIS?

"The Lebanese authorities are very attentive and have put in place a whole series of activities to protect the borders to the north and east of Lebanon. This is evident from what I have learned from my Lebanese colleagues with whom I relate daily ".

What is the relationship between the Italian military and the Lebanese population?

"I have now reached the eleventh month of total stay in Lebanon since I commanded ITALBATT in the 2008, when I was then commanding the 8 ° Bersaglieri Regiment, and we were two Italian battle groups. ITALABATT was located in Maraka, a small town in the hinterland, and I served them for about seven months, which added to the current stay in Lebanon with the "Pinerolo" Brigade. The synthesis of my activity leads me to say that there is a natural positive predisposition towards Italians for a whole series of reasons. It is known to all that Italy is known because it was present in Lebanon, in Beirut, in the early '80. Among other things at the end of that mission, Italy gave the civilian population the field hospital that had been brought south of Beirut. Even the presence from 2006 to today leads me to say that the Lebanese see Italians very positively. Surely this positive attitude has been cemented thanks to the civil and military cooperation activities (CIMIC) that we carry out through the mayors, who represent us the needs of their municipalities, in particular the most requested areas of intervention concern health, public transport, the infrastructures, which we then analyze and insert, based on priority, into an intervention plan. We both make donations and contribute to the construction or renovation of some of the community's interest: we are very attentive to the needs of children, therefore we focus on schools and on health, but not only and thanks to the cooperation with our Italian Embassy in Beirut, we participate in important interventions for the development of tourism, an example is the renovation of the ancient castle of Shama, a small town that on its territoriality it hosts the base of the Italian Contingent. This project is a work to which we contribute to give the opportunity to re-evaluate in the best way the historical beauties of this country. In Tiro, where the Italian Contingent a few years ago took care of fencing the archaeological excavations, there are places full of history where overlapping remains of the Phoenician and Roman periods. The collaboration with the religious authorities is also intense, in fact, I personally meet representatives of both Shiite and Sunni Muslim confessions, both the Maronite Christian Church and the Melchite Catholic Christian Church, therefore the dialogue is continuous both with the bishops and with the mufti. This country is multi-confessional and the religious authorities fully represent the situation and make us understand the different sensibilities. Most of the population is Shiite, but there are also Christians and Sunnis, so we have to talk to everyone in an impartial way and we do it with great will and dedication. In my sector there are eleven nations, about 3500 people, on an operation area divided into five maneuvering units. Among other things, this is also a motive and a challenge that I have as a commander, because I find myself dealing with soldiers representing different cultures, doctrines and military procedures. We have a south Korean battle group (maneuvering unit), one Malay, one Finnish-Irish and one Italian.

What are the needs that represent the authorities?

"The population here in southern Lebanon has suffered a lot from '48 onwards, so what they represent is a reminder of suffering. Many have emigrated to Africa, especially in South America, have made a fortune abroad but are very proud of being Lebanese and as soon as possible they come back, especially in the summer, to live in the place where they were born, where they lived and maybe they were forced to abandon.

Those who stayed here lived in a functional way to what were the events that have characterized this part of the country but now, since 2006, there have been no tensions in the south of Lebanon thanks to UNIFIL which very effectively represents and guarantees the stability of the region and the population is grateful to the United Nations peacekeepers ”.

We have seen that the perception of the mission is positive from the children who greet. Particularity of the Italian soldier? How did we succeed? One of the strengths we have seen is the Market Walk ...

"We carry out a series of operational activities in the area including one that is the market walk, that is, in the villages that have a market we have organized and organized once a week, in concert with the local administrators and the Lebanese armed forces, the presence of our soldiers on foot in the markets to have contact with the local population. It has met with great success because it is an activity of dialogue, confrontation and control of the villages is not really intrusive. It is carried out on foot, also because the villages are very small, they have very narrow streets and it would be unthinkable to enter the market area by transport. Living the life of a market day, with the UN peacekeepers inside the village passing and talking to people, is perceived by the local population in an extremely positive way. For us Italians the degree of acceptance is very high. We prepare a lot to carry out these activities and we do it through a specific training activity that takes place at home and that is the result of an articulated experience that brings the Italian military, understood as a resource of our country. The Italian military has really operated in many areas of the world, therefore, the experience gained from decades of activity carried out in various geographical contexts and of different intensity in the world constitute an added value for us. We have an attitude and a natural habit to be open and positive, to be bearers of an Italian tradition that is seen extremely well here. By this I do not mean that there is no firmness, but it must be contextualized and applied with an attitude of openness. We do our homework and do it very well, and not because I say it, but because it is proved by the esteem statements received by the leaders of the United States, by colleagues from the Lebanese armed forces, but also by the results achieved. Firmness and the capacity for dialogue are characteristic of every soldier of every kind and degree. Our preparation ranges from the rules of engagement provided for this mission, to the ability to carry out the tasks assigned to a thorough knowledge of the social fabric in which one operates. This is perceived by the population and I have extremely positive feedback from this activity that our Italians carry out in our area ".

"I also wanted to emphasize a peculiarity of the Command Brigade, the" Pinerolo "of Bari, is a large unit - adds the general Del Col - full of capacity. A Brigade of 5.400 women and men who has 85% of their own military of Pugliese origin, and in Lebanon there is a good part of them. This is a reason, among other things, of effectiveness and efficiency because I work here with people I know very well and with whom I am used to working at home. We did a very long training period which was divided into dynamic activities and fire drills in the Tor di Nebbia polygon on the Apulian Murge. It was a complex and complex process, which I linked to the knowledge and use of the English language, based on the deep knowledge of the culture of the Lebanese world and its structure, therefore a cultural knowledge of what is the environment in which he had to operate. You can not take the risk that the young soldier, the "strategic corporal", can make mistakes with very serious consequences. You can only imagine what could happen when an Italian soldier, devoid of cultural knowledge and the values ​​of the place where he goes to work, should commit acts contrary to customs and customs with consequences that are perceived as a serious offense.

Therefore, in addition to those that are knowledge of their duties and duties exclusively of the military, knowledge of the territory, its uses and customs must constitute the professional baggage of all soldiers. To this is added the preparation of the commanders who are then to manage certain situations of mediation or dialogue with local leaders in southern Lebanon. This does not mean that we can not deal with thorny issues, but we must do it in a context of fairness and above all impartiality because it is the basis of our relations of encounter and dialogue with these authorities ".

Training activity and cultural training?

"We have carried out a complex fire activity at the Tor di Nebbia polygon, because obviously the military must know the weapons, the means and the equipment they have at their disposal. On this I was very incisive and I spent a lot of time on this activity. At the same time there was a formative activity that led us to stay very far from our barracks. We built logistic bases on completely autonomous tents to verify the logistic capabilities, in two different periods, for a total of two months, facing weather conditions at the limit with snow storms and dangerous thunderstorms, plus a series of activities that were conducted in barracks . We have verified our level of overall preparation in an exercise conducted at the Italian Army's Simulation and Evaluation Center (CESIVA), where the ability of the commanders and staff to work with simulations of the operative reality of the Lebanese theater is tested. All the contingents of the Italian Army are prepared in the same way, so as to create the right continuity between one contingent and another ".

Salvatore Pappalardo

(in the second photo the general with the mayor of Tibnin)