Today at the appeal square of the 12th Mechanized Brigade there was a farewell ceremony of 11th Amendment of the Polish Military Quota in Lebanon (PKW UNIFIL). 230 troops will travel to the mediate East, mostly serving in the Blue Brigade. Their task will include protecting civilians and ensuring safety on the "blue line", i.e. the Lebanese-Israeli border.
– The exchange of personnel will begin shortly and soldiers will return to Poland 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, which was the leading unit of the current change, says Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Operations Command of Types of Armed Forces. – In the second week of April, there will be a formal transfer of command in the zone.
The mediate East mission is not the first for 12 BZ – its soldiers were in Lebanon, among others, as part of the 5th PKW UNIFIL change in 2022. They will operate with the Irish on site, within the Irishpolbatt, which besides includes Hungarians. Irishpolbatt is liable for the alleged Western Sector, its primary task is civil protection and safety on the alleged "blue line", i.e. the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Polish soldiers in Lebanon have been present for many years. UNIFIL, or United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, was formed on 19 March 1978 under UN safety Council Resolutions 425 and 426. Poland sent the first contingent in 1992. By 2009, erstwhile we suspended participation in UNIFIL, the mission was attended by 11,000 military soldiers, 7 soldiers were killed. In 2019, the Polish government decided to re-involve in UN-ethet activities.
In December 2023, the Ministry of Defence declared Lebanon a war zone. The situation in this country has remained unstable since the 1970s. It was then that a spiritual civilian war broke out, the symbol of which was the Beirut green line, dividing the city into a Christian and Muslim part.
In 1976 the Syrian army entered Lebanon under the appearance of separation. But the Syrians – alternatively of becoming a stabilising origin – became active in bloody clashes, including massacres of civilians, while changing alliances many times. Only their exit, in 2005, ended the war. In the meantime, the country besides became an area of criminal expeditions of Israeli forces, aimed at the Lebanon-based Palestine Liberation Organization.
Out of the chaos of civilian war and clash with neighbors emerged the “party of God”, Hezbollah, an organization of extremist Shiite, created and supported by Iran. Hezbollah is simply a state in a state that competes with the government in Beirut. In addition to the generous donations from Tehran, this was supported by a clever strategy – the “party of God” – which combines terrorist activity, the goal of which remains Israel, with extended charity activity for Lebanese people. He runs hospitals, kindergartens, nursery schools, provides material assistance. And due to its terrorist nature, Lebanon is active in successive wars with Israel. The latest installment of this conflict occurred in 2023 and continues to this day.
Lebanon besides has serious economical problems. Structural, resulting from the oligarchical nature of ownership of key sectors of the economy and gigantic corruption. The country is facing bankruptcy and the situation is aggravated by the presence of 1 million Syrian refugees (Lebanon alone has only 4.5 million inhabitants).
In addition, a disaster occurred in the country's capital (4 August 2020) as a consequence of an detonation of over 2.5 1000 tons of ammonium nitrate located in the port. This material was erstwhile confiscated, stored under terrible conditions and "forgotten" as a consequence of decision-making inertia and corruption. The force of the detonation was so large that it destroyed the houses of a 4th of a million people (!). Beirut port ceased to exist, losses were estimated at $15 billion. Lebanon has become even more a humanitarian figure without UN support.
