Minister Krstičević and General Šundov visit Croatian soldiers in UNIFIL

The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces General Mirko Šundov and the Commander of the Croatian Army Major General Siniša Jurković visited the members of the 2nd HRVCON to  UNIFIL in Lebanon from 28 – 29 November 2018.

During the visit to Lebanon the Croatian delegation met with the UNIFIL Commander General Stefano Del Col and the Commander of the UN Base Shama (Sector West) General Diodato Abagnara.

The UNIFIL Commander Major General Stefano Del Col praised the participation of the Croatian Armed Forces in the UN-led peace support operation and Croati’s contribution to the protection of world peace and security.

Croatia is presently contributing to UNIFIL with the 2nd HRVCON, composed of  51 members of the Croatian Armed Forces, assigned to the Brigade “Garibaldi“ of the Italian Armed Forces.

Minister Krstičević commended the Contingent’s members’ performance in UNIFIL: “I am proud to have received so many commendations from the Commander of UNIFIL mission commander, I am proud of the Croatian soldiers. Through our engagement in UNIFIL we are strengthening the interoperability of the Croatian Armed Forces and upgrading the already acquired engineer capabilities; the engineer units have provided valuable support in the assistance to civilian institutions. I am glad to have seen for myself the excellent living and working conditions for our soldiers in Lebanon, who co-operate with the Italian soldiers contributing to the world’s peace and stability”, said the Minister.

The Chief of General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces General Mirko Šundov also commended the efforts by the members of the HRVCON and the Croatian Army for the quality pre-deployment enabling them to take part in a complex operation of the kind. 

Ther Commander of the Croatian Army General Major Siniša Jurković also commended the working conditions for the members of the engineer company and said they performed their tasks in a professional and dignified manner, which is characteristic of the Croatian soldiers, who are a welcome partner in any operation.

The Commander of the 2ndHRVCON to UNIFIL Major Siniša Šlibar said its members (were satisfied with the living and working conditions they are provided in Lebanon. 

“The unit members are engaged in furbishing UN camps, maintaining macadam and other roads as well as in base securing, while some of them work in machinist workshops, manufacturing items of use by the civilian population.So within a UN project we manufactured equipment for the school for children with special needs. The Croatian Contingent also comprises a stand-by counter-mine team which d can be engaged within the Sector West as necessary”. 

An engineer company of the Croatian Armed Forces has been engaged to UNIFIL since April 2018, based in the Camp “Shama“. The 1st HRVCON, deployed from April to November returned after the successful mission on 22 November  2018.  

The area of operation of the HRVCON to UNIFIL is in south Lebanon, between the river Litani  in north Lebanon and the line of separation between Lebanon and Israel (the Blue Line) in south and southeast Lebanon. The Commander of Sector West (to which the  Croatian Contingent is assigned to) since 18 October 2018 has been Brigadier General Diodato Abagnara of the Italian Armed Forces. 

The engineer company is tasked with providing the necessary support to UNIFIL forces within the Combat Support Battalion through force protection and support to mobility in the area of operation and smooth tactical and strategic communications. 

Members of the Croatian Armed Forces have taken part in UN-led peace operations since 1999; presently 67 members are engaged to UNIFIL, UNMOGIP and MINURSO.