The Lebanese Army Initiates Urban Combat Training With French Troops

The Lebanese Army announced that a joint training session took place with French forces in UNIFIL, that focuses on urban warfare.

“Warfare in populated areas was the subject of training between the reserve unit of the Force Commander and the Fifth Infantry Brigade at the Shawakir Training Center,” the Army issued in a statement on Monday.

It explained that the cooperation between Lebanese and French troops aims at maintaining “a high operational level between the two armies.”

As part of the training, Lebanese and French soldiers implemented warfare tactics in urban situations.

The Lebanese Army described the urban environment as “one of the most difficult combat environments,” saying it requires comprehensive alertness and great coordination among the soldiers.

As such, the training incorporated various scenarios and assigned specific tasks to each combat group.

“Backed by armored vehicles, the soldiers had to carry out basic combat actions that combined tactical sense with speed of execution.”

Marshall Paul, the commander of the Reconnaissance and Intervention Squadron of the Force Commander’s Reserve Unit, was quoted by the Army’s statement as saying the training contributes to gradually establishing “a true exchange of knowledge.”

This exchange, Paul said, “enables us to achieve greater effectiveness when carrying out joint missions in the region. This exchange is also an opportunity to compare our equipment and get to know our armies better; we really have many points in common!”

As part of “Operation Daman,” the name of France‘s participation in UNIFIL, around 700 French peacekeepers are currently present in Lebanon.

France is one of the primary contributing countries to UNIFIL, and its peacekeeping forces have been present in Lebanon since 1978.