The patrol vehicle has just hit a landmine and the driver and three passengers are severely injured. Despite hostile fire, the first responders rescue the victims from the car and perform basic medical aid to save their colleagues' lives. The medics have to be inventive with what they have to hand, as well as being safe in the field.

This is a combat medical aid training scenario. The joint training is taking place between UNIFIL’s Italian peacekeepers and members of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) near Shamaa, south-west Lebanon.

As a team of Lebanese soldiers wrap a splint on the leg of one of their colleagues, Lt. Antonio Petraca, a peacekeeper with UNIFIL's Italian Contingent, says, "Today we are doing this training with LAF soldiers from the south Litani Sector. We do this joint training to know the procedure, and for the first responders to be able to identify traumas and vital signs."

In 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, which forms the core of UNIFIL’s mandate, to foster peace and stability in south Lebanon. One of the key aspects of this resolution is that UN Mission supports the operations of the LAF in south Lebanon. The capacity of both the LAF and the UNIFIL peacekeepers is enhanced through joint training such as this.

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Article: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
Video Editor: Aoibheann O'Sullivan, Mohammad Hamze
Video Camera: Mohammad Hamze
Photo: Pasqual Gorriz
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