Army, UNIFIL Conduct Joint Live Firing Exercise in Naqoura

The Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Wednesday carried out a joint live firing exercise combining artillery and machine gun fire near UNIFIL Headquarters in the southern town of Naqoura, UNIFIL said in a statement.

Named “Neptune Thunder”, the military exercise is periodically carried out by the army and UNIFIL forces.

“On UNIFIL’s part, the exercise led by the Force Commander Reserve (FCR) saw the participation of more contingents than on previous occasions. These included the UNIFIL Sector West Mobile Reserve, Belgian, Irish, Italian and South Korean Battalions, as well as Indonesian Force Protection, Malaysian, Portuguese Engineer and Slovenian Reconnaissance Companies,” the statement said.

The joint exercise is meant to “enhance co-operation between LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) and UNIFIL and to help improve the skills and expertise,” it added.

Lebanese Navy ships and UNIFIL Maritime Task Force were deployed to ensure safety at sea during the joint military exercise, according to the statement.