Villages in Irish Unifil zone under attack

MOST of the Irish troops in South Lebanon were sheltering in secure underground bunkers yesterday as Israeli shells rained down on and other towns.

However, troops still manning positions were also trying to cope with up to 1,000 Lebanese refugees seeking shelter from the Israeli attacks.

Meanwhile, the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Mr Zvi Gabay, said his government was taking all possible precautions to avoid casualties among civilians and Unifil troops, but he conceded that "this is a war, and in war, bystanders can be hit."

After sporadic shelling earlier in the day, Irish troops estimated that some 500 shells were fired during the first hour of intense artillery attack yesterday afternoon, landing on Tibnin, Shaqra, Haddatah, Bra-Shit and Safad, and Magdal Silm, which also came under fire from helicopters.

But troops who patrolled the area during a break in the shelling reported no casualties and said damage was confined mainly to the outskirts of the villages.

An Army spokesman added that several thousand people had fled the Irish-controlled area in response to Israeli warnings, but the movement was not on the same scale as during Israel's 1993 offensive.

From 5.45 a.m. yesterday, all off-duty Irish troops were ordered into "groundhog" - code for secured underground accommodation. The Minister for Defence, Mr Barrett, was in touch during the day with the Commander of the Irish Battalion, Lieut-Col Michael Lucey, who assured him that all 633 Irish personnel were safe.

Mr Gabay said that while his government had not been consulted about the positioning of Unifil troops, including the Irish battalion, "we appreciate their situation and we know where they are, and we will do everything in our power to protect them from harm."

"We always warn Unifil soldiers when there is to be military activity in their area. That's the least we can do, but it's also the most we can do. We're fighting for our survival and to give our people some peace and tranquility. But our fight is against Hizbullah and its infrastructure and we are taking every precaution to hit only Hizbullah targets."