(September 12, 2017) These days, in southern Lebanon, the RITE III / 17 (Reserve Integration Training Exercise) exercise for the Italian contingent of the Joint Task Force - Lebanon that leads the "Leonte XXII" operation from April 27. In a multinational context, UNFIL's Sector West, headed by Brigadier General Francesco Olla, has tested its "Command and Control" capabilities of deployed units on the ground in order to increase its reactivity, interoperability and flexibility. The exercise took place in an unpopulated area of the village of Naqoura, which insists on the area of responsibility of the Italian contingent based on Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". The Italian Maneuvering Unit (Italbatt), jointly with Malaysian, Irish, Finnish, South Korean and Ghanaian, guarantees, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, the constant monitoring of Blue Line, the demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel; support to the local population, through numerous projects in support of the municipal and government authorities in the south of the Litani River; the planning and conduct of training and operational activities for the Lebanese Armed Forces (Laf), aimed at implementing the mandate provided by the resolution itself.

ABOUT / NUMBERS

The exercise saw over 200 men and women, 45 armored vehicles, and 4 four tactical command posts conducting operations that have guaranteed the area's stability for over eleven years. Through the use of specialized facilities such as anti-riot teams and explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) arrays to deal with unexploded ordnance (UXO) or improvised explosive devices (IED), units of the multinational contingent have been hired and evaluated by simulating the most likely threats that may occur in southern Lebanon.