General Francesco Figliuolo, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operational Command, landed in Beirut today. And he was welcomed in southern Lebanon at the Shamaa military base, home to the headquarters of the Italian contingent of the UN mission (Unifil).
The Italian contingent under the command of General Giovanni Brafa Musicoro consists mainly of the Granatieri Brigade of Sardinia. The Shamaa base is about 100 km south of Beirut, but only 7 km north of the war zone between pro-Iranian militiamen and Israel. Italy is part of Unifil and has a contingent of more than one thousand two hundred soldiers, as well as contingents from numerous other countries, stationed along the entire border of southern Lebanon.
“The situation in southern Lebanon is quite tense,” said General Francesco Figliuolo in an interview with Rai microphones from the Shamaa military base in southern Lebanon, where the headquarters of the Italian military contingent stationed as part of the UN mission (Unifil) is located. Since October 7, Unifil’s area of operations has been directly involved in exchanges of fire between the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel.
So far, three Unifil military bases, including two where Italian soldiers are stationed, have been hit by projectiles from the conflicting parties. A Nepalese soldier has been injured in recent days.
Figliuolo is visiting the Italian contingent of Unifil today and will meet the Italian soldiers of the bilateral mission (Mibil) in Beirut.
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