The visit of the delegation of the Mine Action Support Group (MASG) led by Ambassador Inigo Lambertini, deputy representative of the permanent mission of Italy to the United Nations in New York, ended yesterday at the Italian base of the United Nations in Shama. The MASG has as its objective the coordination of national programs aimed at promoting demining and prevention activities against the threat of bombs, through financial and information support. Since January 2016, the presidency of this body, on a biennial rotation, is Italian.
During the two-day visit, the delegation had the opportunity to meet through an informative briefing by the commander of the Joint Task Force - Lebanon, gen. b. Francesco Olla, the activities that the Italian contingent carries out on a daily basis aimed at de-mining large areas in Southern Lebanon.
This morning, in particular, the delegation visited the forward base "UN-P 1-31", where the Italian soldiers of the "Lancers of Montebello" (8th) regiment carry out daily patrols and monitoring of the Blue Line, the demarcation line dictated by the United Nations on 7 June 2000, as well as guaranteeing Force Protection to the units of the UNIFIL international contingent set up for demining the border area, in compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution n.1701 of 2006.
The soldiers of Operation "LEONTE XXII", today based on the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade, have recently concluded a cycle of information activities in this area, in favor of the local population, aimed at increasing awareness of the danger that some areas represent and the behavior to adopt in case of discovery of a mine.
