The Diplomat
The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, began the New Year with a video conference with the Spanish contingent of the UN mission in Lebanon, in which no case of COVID-19 has been recorded among its more than 600 members thanks to the “strict prevention measures” of the military health team.
Spain leads the eastern sector of the UNIFIL blue helmets, which monitors the so-called Blue Line border with Israel, among other tasks. This is the oldest mission of the armed forces abroad, as Spain has been leading the eastern sector since 2006, and the most numerous, with 618 soldiers at present.
During the videoconference, which took place yesterday, the minister congratulated the Spanish military on the Christmas holidays and was able to learn about the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the mission. In this regard, Robles was pleased that “at this time there are no positive cases or close contact between the COVID” in the Spanish contingent thanks to the good work carried out by the military health team, which is carrying out “strict prevention measures”, according to the Ministry.
The Minister of Defence also praised the work carried out by the Spanish military in Lebanon and in other peace missions, which “makes us feel very proud of everything, of their professionalism, but above all of their generosity and humanity”. Robles also took an interest in the families of those deployed, to whom he sent a “big hug”.
Accompanied by the chief of defence staff, Air General Miguel Angel Villarroya, and by the commander of the Operations Command, Lieutenant General Francisco Braco, the head of defence spoke to half a dozen members of the Spanish contingent. The Brigadier General of the Land Army, Javier Miragaya, head of the Spanish contingent and of the eastern sector of Lebanon, introduced the troops from the transmission, logistics, military health, civil-military collaboration, tactical unit and military police units, who explained their daily life and their experience far from home over the Christmas holidays.
The Lebanese Brigade (BRILIB) operates under a mandate from the United Nations, which has extended this mandate until 31 August 2021, and its tasks include monitoring the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, accompanying and assisting the local armed forces in the south of the country and along the borderline, and ensuring humanitarian access to the civilian population. In addition, and following the huge explosions in the port of Beirut on 4 August, UNIFIL has been working with the Lebanese authorities to clear and restore the port.
On 10 December last, the Guadarrama XII Brigade took command in the eastern sector. The bulk of the Spanish contingent of the Libre Hidalgo operation, currently made up of 618 troops, is located at the Miguel de Cervantes base near Marjayun. Since 2006 the Spanish contingent has been in charge of Sector East in southern Lebanon as leader of the Multinational Brigade East, which comprises a Spanish battalion, an Indian battalion with a Kazakh company, a Nepalese battalion and an Indonesian battalion. A total of 40 countries are participating in the UN mission, which comprises over 10,500 people, divided into two sectors, with the Western sector led by Italy.
