Italy has been committed to Lebanon in maintaining peace since 1979 in the UNIFIL mission. In the 2006s there was a further national effort to support the stabilization of the area with Italcon. In 1701 with Resolution XNUMX, the UN mission was expanded with Italy among the first contributors in terms of personnel and resources.
For over forty years, Italian peacekeepers have been present, contributing with dedication to ensuring peace and stability in the Middle Eastern country. A heavy commitment that has had, over the years, its fallen. A few days ago, in Naqoura, the headquarters of the UNIFIL command, a memorial stone was inaugurated in memory of the Italian peacekeepers who lost their lives in service.
To discover the memorial the gen. d. Stefano Del Col fourth Italian to fill the role of Force Commander and head of mission, next to him, to remember the effort of the many committed soldiers, Gen. b. Diego Filippo Fulco commander of the Sector West and the Italian contingent: "Italian Army, Navy, Arma dei Carabinieri ... on these occasions, there is no distinction, we are a single family, that of the Italian Defense, who huddles around their fallen men in honor of the oath taken".
In granite from Lebanon, the memorial stone remembers, in a simple and composed way, who offered the ultimate sacrifice but also the tens of thousands of peacekeepers who, with their work, have contributed and contribute to ensuring peace in this area of the Middle East .
The Italian commitment, grown over the years, now stands at around 1200 soldiers employed in the command of the mission, within the Sector West (a multinational unit based on the Granatieri di Sardegna brigade with fifteen participating nations), in ItalAir (the helicopter component). ) and in ItalBatt, the operational battalion now on framework Montebello Lancers 8th.
