Portuguese military ready to the war in Lebanon

There were no troops to be seen when the deafening sound of bullets was first heard.

The soldiers, courageously covered behind the tank, hiding in the smoke of grenades, were slowly coming to war.

To one of them, the courage, the tank and the smoke altogether were not shield enough. He fell down, hit in a leg by a terrorist bullet fired from the occupied buildings ahead and even the tinoni of the ambulance was not loud enough to kill the cries of pain.

He was the single casualty, a feigned-one, of the Engineering Unity 4’s preparation exercise for the mission in Lebanon that took place yesterday in the Regiment of Infantry 13, in Vila Real.

In one-month time, the 141 Portuguese soldiers depart for that country in the Middle East in war for more than 30 years. And they are ready to face the worst of scenario.

“In Lebanon tension is permanent”, said the commander of the unity, lieutenant-colonel Alves Caetano. “We are not fearful but we are well aware of the mission’s risks”.

For more than 70% of the members of the battalion, the mission in Lebanon will be their first one abroad but confidence overcomes the fears.

“I am not deeply worried”, said 1st sergeant, Rodrigues Corinha. “We prepared ourselves well and we are fully aware of what we are going to face there. We have spoken to our colleagues who are in Lebanon these days and we know the challenges that expect us”.

Gorette Assunção, 1st corporal, is more prudent, though. The nurse is one of the 14 women of the battalion and was in Bosnia-Herzegovina before.

“In Bosnia, things were more tranquil”, she said. “When we got there we could tell the population was serene.

I am not so sure that will be the same in Lebanon. But I am confident we will overcome the problems”.
Portugal is in Lebanon for one year and a half with an engineering unity integrated in the UN mission, UNIFIL.

The Portuguese forces are stationed in Shama, a small village in the south of the country where you can see the city of Tiro as well as the northern border of Israel.

The 15 000 men of UNIFIL are allowed to “take all the necessary measures” – including to shoot down any menace – to support the government’s army to establish order in the south of the country, zone often ravaged by conflicts between the Hezbollah’s militias and the Israeli army.

Although the threat is real, the Portuguese have not used guns yet. More than putting down with bullets, the engineer-soldiers went there to put a country up from the ground.

In Lebanon, they have already built schools, playing fields and cemeteries. Now they are building offices and enlarging the walls of UN’s headquarters in Naqoura.

All those works earned them the respect and the help and protection of the Lebanese. “Every action is important for the safeguard of the military”, said major-general Martins Ferreira. “The better welcome the troops are, the safer they will be”.

During the training, the new unity constructed buildings of a small village connected via underground and a two-miles road to test armoured cars in Fraga de Almotolia, in the outskirts of Vila Real.

In Lebanon, apart from the constructions the mission of the Portuguese soldiers is to purify water, de-active explosives and support international organizations in the field.

During a visit to the Portuguese deployment in the south of Lebanon, in February, the President of Republic, Cavaco Silva, said that the Portuguese military are rendering a great service to the cause of peace and raising the reputation of Portugal”.

The UnEng4 is given the national banner on May 8. The battalion flies to Lebanon by the end of the month and will remain there until October.

Before leaving to the Regiment of Infantry 3, in Espinho, where the UnEng4 will be stationed the next month, lieutenant colonel Alves Caetano assumed he was confident on his men.

“I think the force is well trained, disciplined and despite being tired, motivated”, he said.

Hugo Coelho

journalist