A team comprising runners from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) was the winner of a UNIFIL-organized obstacle race in the south-eastern Lebanese town of Marjayoun on Monday.

UNIFIL’s Sector East Headquarters was the first runner-up and the UN Mission’s Spanish Battalion the second runner-up. A total of 56 runners from 14 teams participated in the "SPANBATT Para-Challenge Extreme Race”, which was organized by the Spanish Battalion.

The 9-kilometre race included eight obstacles. The event was organized in the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie of high values.

The race strived to consolidate UNIFIL’s ongoing training activities with LAF to maintain high level of readiness, increase team spirit, enhance collaboration between various UNIFIL battalions and LAF units, and enjoy a healthy life.

In his latest report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), which forms the cornerstone of UNIFIL’s current mandate, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated the importance of close collaboration between UNIFIL and LAF.

“Further enhancing the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces for tasks mandated under the resolution in the UNIFIL area of operations on land and at sea is a strategic priority,” Mr. Ban wrote in the report, while noting the establishment of a strategic environment in southern Lebanon through the joint cooperation between UNIFIL and LAF.

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Article: Tilak Pokharel
Photo: Sector East HQ / UNIFIL
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