“The humanitarian defense operation ‘Cedars Emergency’ was a further sign of the strong bond between Italy and Lebanon and of the fraternal closeness to the Lebanese people” this is the comment by Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini at the end of the 75 days of the Italian military and humanitarian mission following the emergency resulting from explosion of August 4th in the port of Beirut.
On August 24th, during his visit to Lebanon and his meeting with the President of the Lebanese Republic Michel Aoun, Minister Guerini, accompanied by Ambassador Nicoletta Bombardiere, expressed the solidaity of the Government and the Italian people to Lebanon in the difficult moment following the tragic accident.
During the two and a half month mission, the “Cedri” Task Force, led by Brigadier General Giovanni Di Blasi, which arrived in Beirut aboard the San Giusto Navy ship, removed about 13,000 tons of debris in the seaport, demolished unsafe buildings and cleared the port roads from rubble freeing access to the docks.
In addition, the team of military doctors and nurses, coming from the “Celio” Military Polyclinic, operated inside the Italian Military field hospital, deployed in the Lebanese University campus in Hadath, carrying out more than 1,100 outpatient specialist visits to Lebanese citizens and over 1,300 PCR tests given the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Lebanon.
“For 38 years our Armed Forces have never abandoned Lebanon and even in the difficult days after the explosion, they have honored Italy and its institutions by providing a concrete contribution to help the severely affected Lebanese population”, said the Minister, also underlining the delicate daily work carried out by the approximately 1200 Italian soldiers operating in Sector West under UNIFIL mission led and commanded by General Stefano Del Col.
The mission ended with the symbolic inauguration, at the roundabout at the entrance to the port, of a monument, a steel cedar about 3 meters high, to seal the friendship between the Italian Defense and the Lebanese Armed Forces. The military withdrawal phase and return to homeland started. The departure of the last batch of “Cedri” mission soldiers is scheduled for November 17.
