Irish UNIFIL base Camp Shamrock struck by rocket in Lebanon
by https://www.irishcentral.com/author/kerry-o-shea · IrishCentralAll Irish personnel are safe and accounted for after a rocket struck United Nations Post 2-45, the Irish base known as Camp Shamrock, in Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon, October 30.
“I can confirm that yesterday afternoon, there was a Katyusha rocket that landed within 2-45," Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, Chief of Staff for the Irish Defence Forces, told reporters in Athlone on Thursday.
“This was by an armed element, obviously.
“Our assessment traveling from north to south into Israel."
Camp Shamrock is located about 7km from the Lebanon - Israel border.
Lt Gen Clancy continued: “A lot of these are undirected, unguided, and therefore unpredictable rockets and they have been known to fall or be taken down by the iron dome - we haven’t assessed which or whether that is right now.
“But it did fall in an unoccupied area of the actual camp itself. It caused minimal damage on the ground.
“Our subject matter expert, our ordinance officer, secured the area and overnight dampened the area and this morning dealt with it and made it safe, the device, in the camp itself.
“All our personnel are safe and well and, of course, force protection is a priority for us. All of the precautions we take and have been taking, which are working quite well, worked effectively in this occasion.”
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Lt Gen Clancy was speaking during a military event on Thursday at Custume Barracks in Athlone where Tánaiste Micheál Martin reviewed the members of the 125th Infantry Battalion due to deploy to Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL).
Ireland's Department of Defence noted on Thursday that soldiers from 23 counties across Ireland are represented among the 381-strong contingent deploying to UNIFIL, with the majority coming from Co Donegal. Ten personnel are from the Armed Forces of Malta.
RTÉ News reports that the Tánaiste said on Thursday that the incident illustrates the risks that Irish troops face in a "very challenging environment."
"That is why force protection is extremely important," he said.
"We are pushing very strongly for a de-escalation in the region, that is absolutely essential for the people of the region and also for the world.
"We need to avoid an Israel-Iranian conflict as well, because that could have very serious consequences for the world."
He continued: "We cannot understate the importance of all sides pulling back from the brink now and engineering a ceasefire and working through a peaceful path.
"We're very conscious of the risks that are involved. We're also conscious that unlike Gaza, we have eyes and ears on the ground in Lebanon to bear witness to what is happening."
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Meanwhile, Taoiseach Simon Harris said in a post on X that he is receiving regular updates about Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon and that the troops at Camp Shamrock are safe and well.
According to the PA, the Taoiseach told reporters in Co Kildare on Thursday: “This is an extremely serious situation, whilst it seems what happens is this – that a rocket was fired, that rocket was taken down by what they call the Iron Dome, and part of that rocket then fell on, thankfully, an unoccupied part of Camp Shamrock, home to our Irish peacekeepers, and thankfully nobody has been hurt or injured, and thankfully all our peacekeepers are accounted for and safe, and that is a good thing.”
The Taoiseach added: "I really reiterate my call in relation to the need for people to respect international law and respect the specific protections that are provided to peacekeepers in relation to that."