UNIFIL Marks 10th Anniversary of Naval Force in Lebanon

Beirut, 21 Muharram 1438/22 October 2016 (MINA) – The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) celebrated Friday the 10th anniversary of the deployment of its first and only naval force, Maritime Task Force (MTF), in Lebanon.

Over the last 10 years, MTF have succeeded in assisting the Lebanese government in preventing the entry of arms and illegal materials to the country via sea, KUNA quoted Major-General Michael Beary, UNIFIL’s Commander, as saying during a special ceremony to mark the event at the Beirut Port.

“UNIFIL MTF has hailed more than 70,000 ships, of which more than 8,500 were referred to the Lebanese Navy for inspection,” he said, adding that MTF also contributed in enhancing the Lebanese Navy’s capabilities by carrying out a range of different training courses and joint exercises.

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“Today, the Lebanese Armed Forces Navy patrol their territorial waters, use modern coastal radar to monitor sea traffic, plan and execute complex special operations exercises and coordinate search and rescue operations at sea,” Beary noted, pointing out the Lebanese navy’s development as a result of a decade of closely planned training with MTF.

MTF was deployed on 15 October 2006 at the request of the Lebanese government following the adoption of the resolution 1701 by UNSC.

UNIFIL MTF currently has more than 850 uniformed naval personnel and seven ships; two from Bangladesh and one each from Brazil, Germany, Greece, Indonesia and Turkey. There are also two onboard helicopters. (T/R07/R01)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)