After a little over six months in Lebanon, the 'Aragón' Brigade is handing over to the members of the 'Guzmán El Bueno' Brigade who will travel to the 'Miguel de Cervantes' base in three rotations starting tomorrow, where they will continue their commitment to ensuring the peace and security of Spain, within the framework of the UNIFIL mission.

Spain's participation in UNIFIL began in September 2006, as part of the 'Libre Hidalgo' operation, deploying its military to southern Lebanon with the aim of contributing to the implementation of UN Resolution 1701. Since then, the Spanish Armed Forces have played a key role in peacekeeping in the region, leading the mission's Eastern Sector from the 'Miguel de Cervantes' base, located near the town of Marjayoun.

The Spanish deployment has focused on patrolling and monitoring the line of separation between Israel and Lebanon, in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces. Patrols are being conducted both on foot and in vehicles, with the aim of preventing violations of the truce and stopping tensions between the parties from escalating into clashes.

The Spanish contingent in UNIFIL is one of the largest, with 669 military personnel currently assigned to various tasks within the mission. In addition to the patrols, Spanish troops are present at the mission's command posts in Naqoura, where the force's headquarters are located, and where Spain has also assigned several key posts for army officers and non-commissioned officers. In fact, the current head of UNIFIL is Spanish General Aroldo Lázaro.

The contingent now taking over is made up of around 600 soldiers under the command of General Fernando Ruiz Gómez. Most of them come from the units of BRI X, Armoured Regiment 'Cordoba' 10, Infantry Regiment 'La Reina' 2, Infantry Regiment 'Garellano' 45, GACA X (Self-propelled Field Artillery Group), Logistic Group X, Sappers Battalion X and Headquarters Battalion X.

It also has the support of a logistics unit belonging to AALOG 21 from Seville, and personnel from other units of the Spanish Army, including the NBQ (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Defence Regiment 'Valencia' 1, the Transmission Regiments 21 and 22, the ROI (Information Operations Regiment) and the AGRUSAN 1 (Health Cluster), the Armed Forces and the Spanish military police, as well as soldiers from the armies of Brazil, Serbia and El Salvador.

History of UNIFIL

The UN mission was created in 1978, with the primary objective of responding to a critical situation in the south of Lebanon, where the withdrawal of Israeli forces was to be verified after years of occupation. This was the beginning of one of the UN's longest peacekeeping missions, designed not only to ensure the departure of foreign troops, but also to restore international peace and security in a conflict-ridden region.

Non official translation