A few days before his mandate as head of mission and commander of the UN force in Lebanon, the Irish general Michael Beary visited the "blue helmets" of Unifil's Sector West, the multinational contingent based on the brigade "Sassari" deployed in the southern region of the country.
"It is a great privilege for me to be here among you and serve the mission at your side," General Beary began in his address of greeting to the troops deployed in Shama's "Millevoi" base.
"As the new commander of Unifil, I feel obliged to thank you for the excellent work done for peacekeeping in this area of the Middle East. If Lebanon is experiencing a period of peace and tranquility today, it is also thanks to you, "said Beary. "Each of you, in fact, in your own small way, did something very big."
In stressing the importance of the UN Security Council 1701 resolution, the officer urged the "peacekeepers" to "continue to guarantee the maintenance of the stability of the area through respect for the cessation of hostilities" especially close to " Blue line "," supporting the Lebanese armed forces and seeking the unanimous consent of the local population "through the implementation of civil-military cooperation projects.
The high-ranking official was welcomed upon arrival by General Arturo Nitti, under whose command 3.700 operates "blue helmets" (1.100 the Italians) of 12 of the 40 contributing countries to the peace mission established in the 1978.
General Michael Beary took command of the UNIFIL 19 mission last July, taking over, after nearly two years in office, from division general Luciano Portolano.
