Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles called on the United Nations to ensure the protection of peacekeepers in Lebanon, adding the safety of troops deployed as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon is a priority.
As hostilities continue in the region, Robles, speaking to journalists on Monday, said she was closely monitoring her soldiers serving in the UN peacekeeping mission and called for their safety to be ensured.
“I speak with them every day, twice a day. It is a difficult, complicated situation,” she said, adding that the soldiers spend long hours in bunkers due to security risks but continue to carry out their duties when conditions permit.
She emphasised, in a conversation with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and the UNIFIL Force Commander, that Israel must “respect and protect the lives of the people there.”
Robles said that Spain remains committed to Lebanon, but violations of international law cannot be tolerated. The country leads the multinational brigade in the eastern sector of the region, comprising around 3,500 troops of seven different countries, including India, Nepal, Indonesia, Serbia, El Salvador, Brazil and Spain. The Spanish contingent, which peaked at 1,100 soldiers, has remained at between 600 and 700 personnel since 2012.
