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DEFENCE MINISTER SIMON Coveney has said Irish troops in the Golan Heights are being dragged into a “very nasty civil war” and that as far as he’s concerned, what’s been happening in the region does not represent “an acceptable level of risk”.
Speaking this morning, Coveney reiterated his call for a UN review of the mission, and said that would need to happen before the Defence Forces’ next scheduled rotation of troops, due to happen in the next four weeks.
Irish soldiers were involved in a daring mission to rescue their UNDOF colleagues from the Philippines in the Golan Heights at the weekend, after the Filipino troops came under attack from Syrian rebels.
All 75 of the Filipino troops caught up the siege were confirmed as safe yesterday. The rebels, some of whom have links Al-Qaeda, surrounded them and demanded their weapons last Thursday.
The fate of more than 40 UN peacekeepers from Fiji still remains unknown, however. The Fijians were taken captive by rebels just before the Filipinos were besieged.
The troops are serving as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, set up in 1974 to police a ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian troops in the area.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Coveney said it was ”clearly no longer a demilitarised zone”.
“I’ve made it very clear that I’m not going to commit Irish troops to this mission unless there’s a very fundamental review of how it’s going to operate,” he said.
130 members of the Defence Forces’ 46th Infantry Group are due to travel to the region next month, taking over from the 44th Infantry Group, who have been there since March.
“We need to get assurances from the UN and where possible from Israel and Syria that where possible we can operate to the mandate of this mission,” he said.
An ‘on the ground’ review of operations is already under way, but the Minister said he wanted a broader review to be carried out at United Nations headquarters in New York to decide whether the mission should continue in its current form.
“The current mandate is simply not matched to the current conditions on the ground.”
What has happened on the ground in the last three days is not an acceptable level of risk from my perspective, and I suspect the Government’s perspective either.
Regarding the imminent rotation of troops, he said, “clearly we will need to have a review before then, before we make those decisions”.
In the meantime, all UN troops in the mission will be working hard to secure the release of the Fijian soldiers, Coveney said.
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Try leaving your phone in your pocket and you might actually see someone.
Although I am not a doctor so please don’t take this as medical advice.
Actually do, do take this as medical advice.
Cool app but has it really come to the stage where we’re too socially inept to bloody chat somebody up in a nightclub, instead we have to do it hiding behind a screen??!
Add a function to register your cloakroom ticket.. and a taser function to fend off s€umbags.. and an ID function where the club can validate your age on first visit (no need for subsequent ID documentation).. and a “pint of water” reminder after your 5th jaeger.. and a DJ music request function.. and a broken glass/pile of sick warning function.. and a “Will ya shift me mate?” function.. and a “No thanks, I’ll wash my own hands” automated voice button.. then cut me in on the profits!
Sounds like something that could take off
Ill send a wink to me wife and see if see buys me a drink
Cheers
If it sends you a reminder of her name at 8 the next morning then this is a winner! Cut out the rest of the needless crap.
I use the Vino application to get the best results with the ladies…
Fix your headline. Grammar and spelling as good as ever on this site!
Who’s Will?
Imagine going through all of this, selecting your venue having winked at someone you fancy, pre ordered your drink etc etc and then the doorman doesn’t let you in.
It’s dehumanising the life experience. Young people are lacking in people skills now. I can see a future growth in an area that teaches people social skills as a result of their whole social life being conducted on a phone.
What next?
A riding App?
You mean tindr?
Please send me the link : )
Don’t know who has power in their phone to be using these apps in nightclubs
Seeing people staring at their phones on a night out is a real old annoyance for me. When I see free wifi on display I go elsewhere.
A guy approached me a few years ago to work on something like this. Perhaps I should have said yes.
Ah well.
Think we’re in a bit of an app bubble. Tons have launched this year and most seem to be four square type spin offs.
Dunno about the app but the website appears to send your credit card details across the internet without any encryption or protection. Classy.
http://www.broadsheet.ie/tag/kieran-boylan/
Seems you don’t go to jail for heroin in Drogheda.
Seems you’ve got the wrong story.
I work on the other side of the bar and have been taking venoo payments for the past couple of months.. I find it to be much quicker than someone using their card which for anyone who works behind the bar knows it’s very tedious.. the fact that you can lodge a predetermined amount into your account is also very useful as you don’t overspend, which for me happens all too regularly.. the 15% discount is a nice touch too.. serious potential here.
Crapp
Ring a taxi? Bahahahahahahahahaha
They clearly have never seen the queue on Harcourt St any night of the week or even outside some pubs I frequent in….
The truth hurts
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