Opening of a Civil Defence Training Centre in Southern Lebanon

• The milestone of BRILIB XXXVI Engineer Unit's work is inaugurated in the village of Bourj al Malouke

After 157 days of work, the Engineers Unit (UING) has concluded the project of the Civil Defence Training Centre which started in 2021 with the former detachment.

The centre was inaugurated by the Deputy Head, Jack Christofides, who, on in the name of UNIFIL, handed over the project to the Mayor of Bourj al Malouke, Elie Sleiman. The event was attended by the head of the Multinational Brigade of the Eastern Sector, General Ramón Armada Vázquez, the governor of Nabatieh, Hasan Fakih, and the head of the Civil Defence Centre, Anis Abla, as well as representatives of the Lebanese Armed Forces and personnel from the United Nations Mission in the nation.

In the course of 2021, the heads of the Lebanese Civil Defence Centres requested UNIFIL to set up a training range for their fire units in the town of Bourj al Malouke.  Knowing the great capacity and versatility of the Spanish Army's engineering units, UNIFIL urged Sector East to consider the possibility of the Spanish engineering unit carrying out this work. Once the feasibility of the project was approved, the UING of LH XXXV began planning it.

As a consequence of the complexity of the training centre, it is necessary to carry out a reconnaissance of an Austrian firefighters' training range, located at the Naquora Base. From that moment on, the project for the future Southern Lebanon Centre was drawn up, with the work force and the management of the construction process being the responsibility of the UING of the XXXVI Brigade. 

The centre, located a few metres from UNP 9-66 in Bourj al Malouke and based on metal containers, has all the necessary conditions to allow firefighters to be instructed and trained in different techniques and procedures, not only for rescue at different heights, but also to simulate interior fires, which will strengthen the firefighters' preparation for this type of emergency.

By carrying out this type of project, Spanish Armed Forces not only demonstrate Spain's commitment to international security and legality, but also reinforce its solidarity with the efforts of the international community to help stabilise, in this case, southern Lebanon.