A Bit Like Bosnia: U.N. Peacekeepers in South Lebanon

By Marilyn Raschka

With the news so often focused on U.N. troops in Bosnia, we've lost sight of other U.N. peacekeeping operations, among them the 5,000-strong contingent in south Lebanon. This U.N. mission has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world—to keep peace where the combatants clearly want to wage war.

Among these UNIFIL (U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon) battalions from Norway, Sweden, Nepal, Ghana, Finland, France, Italy, Ireland and Fiji, none has a harder mission than the Norwegians, whose area of operations is located entirely inside the 410 square miles of south Lebanon claimed by Israel as its "security zone" since 1985. The other participating UNIFIL countries patrol areas adjacent to the zone. A U.N. resolution dating back to 1978 ordered Israel out and the U.N. in. Israel countered the creation of UNIFIL with a military force of its own, a 2,000-strong client militia of Lebanese called the "South Lebanon Army" (SLA). Acting as their watchdogs and backup are some 1,000 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops.

That "security zone" has done more than anything else to create an insecurity zone which Lebanese resistance fighters infiltrate to attack both the SLA—the more accessible group—and whenever possible the Israelis themselves.

The job of the Norwegian battalion (NORBATT) is to keep all armed elements from penetrating the Norwegian "safe haven" and using it to stage attacks. Armed elements are apprehended, disarmed and sent out of the area. Between NORBATT and the IDF is a memorandum of understanding—an agreement which attempts to maintain daily co-existence. The Israelis are allowed to patrol the NORBATT area for an hour a day, or two if the terrain is rough. But ask the Norwegian officers what really goes on and you'll hear them say: "They stay as long as they want."

The resistance fighters—led by Hezbollah after the 1982 routing of the PLO—the SLA, and Israeli troops view NORBATT as an obstacle to their desired course of action. It's a dangerous game of cats and mice with Norwegian referees who are at times dragged into the fray.

The price the combatants and UNIFIL have paid for Israeli's security zone keeps growing. Between the 1985 establishment of the security zone and March 1995, 132 Israeli solders have been killed and 384 wounded in resistance operations. The Israeli toll would be much higher without the "foot soldiers" of the SLA. Their losses have mounted to more than 300 killed and 100 wounded in the same period, an unusual ratio of dead to wounded that testifies to the "success" of the resistance groups.

UNIFIL losses since 1978 have reached 202, among them 20 Norwegians.

'70s and '80s Suicide Missions

Once upon a time, "ragtag" best described the bands of paramilitary types that made up the Lebanese resistance movement. Whether PLO or any of the other Palestinian groups, their training fell short of their targets. In the '70s and most of the '80s their activities were either labeled "suicide missions" or were so in practice because of a lack of training.

Beirut-based news agencies reported suicide attacks by young fighters with communist leanings, dressed as local peasants and leading booby-trapped mules in the direction of an Israeli foot patrol. Agencies aired video tapes of the suicide bombers pledging their lives to the cause. For weeks afterwards the walls of west Beirut would be papered with picture posters of the latest hero.

The few posters that remain of these once-famous young communists now are faded and peeling. The newer posters crowding the walls show today's heroes, bearded young men with a Hezbollah bent who inherited the resistance mantle from the Palestinian groups sent into exile after the 1982 Israeli invasion. Active in south Lebanon since the mid-1980s, today's Hezbollah is a tough and effective organization that accepts its casualties stoically. NORBATT's official 1994 report, quoted below, verifies this:

"The level of resistance activity in 1994, with about 650 operations, was the highest since 1988. SLA's fatality toll was the worst since 1986. SLA wounded almost doubled. As the SLA doesn't usually announce those who die later of their wounds, the fatality toll could be a bit higher.

"The IDF's 21 fatalities in 1994 were less than in 1993, when it suffered 29, but still higher than any other year since 1986. The resistance had a total of 48 killed (22 of them Palestinians), the highest total since 1990."

With brutal honesty the NORBATT report continues:

"Once again the interesting feature was the number for Palestinian dead given their relatively low level of participation and generally ineffective operations. One explanation could be the low professional level of their 'military leaders' who send untrained youngsters on missions of doom just to be able to issue pages and pages of 'war communiqués' from the safety of Beirut, which always manage to get the place and time wrong."

(Note: Palestinians active in the resistance today are either fighters who returned to Lebanon from exile or are new recruits from the refugee camps in Lebanon.)

Hezbollah's growing expertise is reflected in the Museum of Weapons located on the NORBATT compound. The collection, all confiscated in NORBATT territory, reveals the extent of the international arms trade. Rocket launchers, hand grenades, and a wide assortment of assault guns are displayed in cases or hang from the walls. Their countries of origin include the USA.

The curiosity of the collection is a pile of large rocks on a window sill. "Look closer," a NORBATT officer suggests. But even closer doesn't solve the mystery until you see that the rocks have been blown apart and that the inside is hollow and obviously not made of rock. Even Disney couldn't have done it better. These rocks are plastic look-alikes, once packed with remote-controlled explosives. Placed roadside, they were detonated by Hezbollah fighters as an Israeli or SLA patrol passed and reveal the level of technology employed in this ongoing but rarely-reported war.

Every morning at NORBATT headquarters, the commander stands in front of his officers. Huge maps that detail NORBATT's Area of Operations and a pointer are standard equipment. A night report is given—like a weather report it tells of heavy to light firing, occasionally a full- fledged retreat to the battalion's shelters as strong "gusts" of Israeli shells overfly NORBATT territory.

Very visible from NORBATT headquarters is PV 92, Permanent Violation 92. This is a hilltop where the IDF has an observation position. Neither the Israelis nor the post should be there, according to the U.N. But there they are and there it stays. Hence the title, Permanent Violation.

NORBATT runs patrols day and night. But the action accelerates after dark. Although the terrain is rough and scrub bushes provide plenty of cover, infiltrating resistance fighters opt for evening operations. Because hauling weapons through these mountainous stretches takes time, they move slowly and carefully.

In this terrain, the patrol teams need all the help they can get. And they get it from a "platoon" of German shepherds trained to sniff out intruders. The trainers work out daily with the animals and tend to their diets and care. Kennels are spotless. Dog food is a special mix imported from the U.S. Of the 12 dogs, several have had special training in sniffing explosives. Another is specialized in the "fragrance" of drugs— which at times are traded along the Lebanese-Israeli border, proving that even the worst enemies can find common ground.

Night patrols can turn into nightmares. An urgent call from a patrolling team reports a serious problem: "We're being fired on." Assuming that a movement along the crest of the ravine is a resistance fighter, the SLA has gone trigger-happy. Back at NORBATT headquarters an angry battalion commander is on the phone with the IDF, reporting the incident and holding its officers responsible for the actions of the SLA.

Virtually none of these incidents make the international press, however. South Lebanon, unlike the Balkans, is old hat. But the blue berets of UNIFIL, now 17 years on duty in south Lebanon, deserve recognition and admiration for doing a job that is no less difficult or frustrating than the one faced by their counterparts.

Marilyn Raschka is an American free-lance writer and long-time resident of Beirut.