Thirty members of the Serbian Armed Forces who participated in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon have returned to Serbia.
This marks the end of the engagement of the Force Protection Platoon from Sector “West,” which is responsible for the continuous security of the forces engaged in the operation and responding in complex security conditions.
The Minister of Defense wished the Serbian peacekeepers a happy return to the homeland and, on behalf of the President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić and on his own behalf, thanked them for “bringing honor to the fatherland before their colleagues from other countries and the United Nations as a whole.”
“You represented the Serbian Armed Forces and our country honorably and with dignity. The fifth out of a total of six possible levels of threat to the members of the mission represents an extremely simplified, but very clear picture of the security situation in which you performed assigned tasks daily. Despite all the challenges and dangers, we received the most favorable observations and praise regarding your engagement,” said Minister Gašić.
On that occasion, he emphasized that the 30 of them, or a total of 160 together with the other members of the Serbian Armed Forces contingent in Lebanon, were engaged in the peacekeeping operation in that country during the previous period under very complex security conditions and that the Republic of Serbia, by undertaking the obligation to participate in the UNIFIL operation, also assumed the risks that this task entails.
“Although the security environment changed in accordance with current events in the Middle East region, all tasks assigned to our platoon were realized professionally and responsibly with maximum respect for all security procedures and excellent interpersonal relations. In this way, our peacekeepers showed professionalism and responsibility and confirmed once again that the Serbian Armed Forces is a reliable, credible, and responsible partner in international relations,” said Colonel Ivković.
Captain First Class Đorđe Kričak, commander of the Force Protection Platoon, pointed out that it was an honor and a pleasure for him to have commanded the members of that platoon.
The homecoming was attended by the Commander of the Training Command, Brigadier General Dragiša Zlatković, and the Chief of Staff of the Minister of Defense, Brigadier General Nikola Matović. Performing tasks from all three missions of the Serbian Armed Forces in this way further strengthens the trust of citizens in the defense system, but also strengthens the international reputation of our army and state.
Deputy Head of the Peacekeeping Operations Center, Colonel Dragan Ivković, said that the members of the Serbian Armed Forces who returned, performed regular tasks in the operation zone in accordance with the mission mandate and standard operating procedures during their engagement in Lebanon.
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Source: RTS; Photo: Ministarstvo odbrane