The Lebanon brigade (BRILIB) XLII reinforces its support for the recovery of the town of Khiam

•   ‘We hope that this Spanish gesture of goodwill, along with many others that have preceded it, will alleviate the suffering of its inhabitants,’ states Commander Landaburu

The head of the Lebanon Brigade XLII, Brigadier General Fernando Ruiz Gómez, accompanied by the Spanish unit's civil-military cooperation team (CIMIC), handed over to Hussein Fakih, representative of the Civil Defence Centres (CDC) of Nabatiyeh, the gearbox of the CDC's truck in the town of Khiam, which has been particularly damaged as a result of the intense fighting in southern Lebanon. In addition, the Spanish military made a donation of winter clothing, blankets and food, which was received by the Mufti of Khiam, Abed Husein al Abdallah, who thanked Spain for this donation, while requesting the continuation of this invaluable support to the population of Khiam.

The ceremony took place at the UNP 7.2 position of the United Nations mission (UNIFIL), located in the Eastern Sector, responsibility of the multinational brigade led by the Spanish General Ruiz Gómez. After the handover ceremony, Major Manuel Landáburu Lossada, head of the CIMIC team, pointed out that ‘this locality, with a Shiite majority, has suffered very intensely from the fighting during the month of November. We hope that this Spanish gesture of goodwill, along with the many others that have preceded it, will reverse the harsh situation in Khiam and alleviate the suffering of its inhabitants, while establishing new ties of cooperation between UNIFIL and the authorities and the population of Khiam‘.

Since 2007, a year after Spain's first deployment in southern Lebanon as part of UNIFIL, successive Spanish brigades have carried out projects ranging from the resurfacing of access roads to installing and maintaining solar panels, as well as donations of materials for schools, improvements to the town's parks and squares, equipment for a municipal gymnasium and electricity generators. Various cooking and computer courses have also been held.

Recovery of access to Khiam

Along with this cooperation to restore normality in Khiam, during the month of December the BRILIB XLII contingent carried out reconnaissance and clearance operations in and around Khiam to coordinate and support the entry of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). In particular, the work of BRILIB engineers facilitated the movement of LAF units to their former positions in the south of Khiam town.

Once the established objectives had been achieved, the handover took place with the Lebanese Armed Forces, who expressed their gratitude for the work and commitment of the Spanish military to help restore security and peace in this town of Khiam and, therefore, in southern Lebanon.

Spain in UNIFIL

The Spanish Armed Forces were deployed in Lebanon in September 2006. The bulk of the contingent in Operation Libre Hidalgo is at the ‘Miguel de Cervantes’ base, near the town of Marjayoun where the Spanish-led Sector East HQ is located. There are also Spanish troops at the mission's headquarters in Naqoura.

Currently, more than 650 Spanish military personnel are deployed in UNIFIL, with the aim of ensuring compliance with UN Resolution 1701, in a very unstable security situation, despite the peace agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon last November.