1 TROOPS KEEPING A FRAGILE PEACE

We embed with brave Irish soldiers at volatile frontier

- MICHAEL O’TOOLE

THE Irish Mirror today begins a week-long visit to our brave Irish soldiers keeping the peace in one of the world’s most volatile frontiers.

Reporter Michael O’Toole and photographer Mick O’Neill are embedded with the Defence Forces’ 122 Infantry Battalion, which is policing a 15km stretch of the de facto Lebanon-Israel border.

The frontier, called the Blue Line, was drawn up after the war between Israel and Islamic armed group Hezbollah in 2006, in which 1,500 people died, and the Irish unit plays a key role in protecting the peace in the area. The 338 Irish personnel, who work with troops from Malta, Poland and Hungary, must prevent rocket attacks on Israel from their area of operations, and patrol with the Lebanese Armed Forces.