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Westmeath-Based Soldiers Returning Home From Syria

Friday, 5 April 2024 12:13

They've been on deployment for six months.

Soldiers based in a Westmeath army barracks are due to return home from Syria today.

133 Irish troops from the 68th Infantry Battalion, which is based in Custume Barracks, have been on deployment for six months.

The withdrawal represents the last of the Irish troops in Syria, as the Defence Forces ends its peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights.

The country has been participating in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force since 2013, and almost three thousand peacekeeping troops have served with the mission.

That decision to withdraw was taken last year, in order to ensure the Defence Forces have the capacity to fulfil its commitment to the EU Battlegroup.

It will also relieve ongoing challenges with filling certain specialist roles in overseas deployments.

The 68th Infantry Battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Clear, is due to return home from the six-month deployment later today.

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