Last week, around 60 between children and adolescents among the 7 and 18 years, orphans of the "Martyr Lieutenent Colonel Sobhi Al Akoury" Association were hosted at the Shama base in southern Lebanon, home of the National Contender. The officer was killed in the 2007 during the battle of Nahr El Bared, a town in northern Lebanon near Tripoli, the scene of 105 days of very hard clashes that saw Lebanese Arab forces confronting some terrorist cells inside the refugee camp of the area.
Organization no profit, the Association was founded in Beirut in the 2008 by the martyr's widow with the support of the Lebanese armed forces, to welcome the orphans of the Lebanese military and organize charity events and recreational activities for children. The July 11 meeting was attended by the commander of the Sector West and the CSSBN commander Colonel Mario Stefano Riva, by the commander of the Lebanese armed forces deployed in the sector south of the Litani river, General Charbel Abou Khalil, and by the commander of the 5 army brigade, General Afif Saleh.
The meeting reconfirmed the close relations of the Italian Contigent with the population and the Lebanese armed forces, especially in civil and military cooperation activities for assistance to the local population. Tests of skill and dexterity, group games, mini soccer and volleyball tournaments, but also artistic and culinary workshops involved the staff of the base along with about 60 children.
(photo: SMD)
