Camp Shamrock - Irish peacekeepers base in Lebanon - hit by Russian-made rocket

The base of hundreds of Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon has been hit by a rocket, it has been confirmed.

The sprawling camp is home to almost 600 soldiers – including 338 from Ireland – and personnel are constantly working to make sure the site and the troops’ mission to keep the peace run as smoothly as possible.

Camp Shamrock - officially known as UNP 24-5 - is a constant hive of activity at the base – close to the border between Lebanon and Israel.

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It was struck by a rocket last night and the Chief of Staff for the Irish Defence Forces confirmed the incident when speaking in Athlone this morning.

Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said: "It was our assessment the rocket was traveling from north to south into Israel."

"A lot of these are undirected, unguided and therefore unpredictable rockets, and they have been known to fall out, being taken down by the iron dome.

"It did fall in an unoccupied area of the actual camp itself and caused minimal, minimal damage on the ground." He said all Irish personnel are safe and well. The rocket was a Russian-made Katusha rocket.

The area where the camp is located is close to the so-called Blue Line, an effective border between the two countries, that was set up after the brutal war of 2006 between Shia Islamic armed group Hezbollah and Israel –and the Irish are there to protect the fragile peace.

That sees infantry and cavalry soldiers from the 122 Infantry Battalion, who started a six-month tour of duty in May, mounting regular patrols in the Irish area of operations – but those troops rely on a huge operation back at base to keep them safe and sound.

Lt Gen Clancy and Ireland's deputy premier and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin participated in a military event at Custume Barracks in Athlone on Thursday for the members of the 125th Battalion of the Defence Forces who are preparing to take over from their counterparts in Lebanon when Irish troops on peacekeeping duties are next rotated.

Taoiseach Mr Harris said he was thankful no-one had been hurt in the rocket strike.
"In relation to Camp Shamrock, I have been kept informed of it through yesterday evening and, indeed, into today," he told reporters in Co Kildare on Thursday.

"This is an extremely serious situation, whilst it seems what happens is this - that a rocket was fired, that rocket was taken down by what they call the Iron Dome, and part of that rocket then fell on, thankfully, an unoccupied part of Camp Shamrock, home to our Irish peacekeepers, and thankfully nobody has been hurt or injured, and thankfully all our peacekeepers are accounted for and safe, and that is a good thing."

Mr Harris said there was an obligation in international law to protect and not target peacekeepers.

"What we have seen in the last number of days, on many occasions throughout the Unifil mission, and what we saw yesterday in relation to Camp Shamrock, is a situation where even if peacekeepers aren't being actively targeted, certainly enough steps are not being taken to protect them," he said.

"Therefore, I really reiterate my call in relation to the need for people to respect international law and respect the specific protections that are provided to peacekeepers in relation to that."

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