February 2022. The telephone number Aroldo Lazaro it doesn’t stop vibrating. “Who will it be then…?” On the other end of the phone, unexpected news. “We have a task for you…” His days as Major General of the Army in the “Guzmán the Good” Brigade of Cerro Muriano, in Córdoba, are about to end. After lengthy deliberations, the Department of Peace Operations of the UN led by French diplomat Jean-Pierre Lacroix chose him as head of the United Nations Interim Force for Lebanon, appointed UNIFIL.
When all this happened, Aroldo Lázaro Saénz He was already one of the most experienced soldiers in the Spanish army. That’s why the UN wanted it. Born in Sidi Ifni, Moroccoin 1962, when the city was still an important center military colony Spanish. Military life already ran through his veins. Son of an officer Legion and also grandson of a soldier, the very etymology of his name, “who governs an army”, suggested and evoked since his childhood that he was destined for authority and leadership. That’s how it was.
He entered the armed forces in July 1981, at the age of 19, and, at the age of 24, in 1986, Lázaro obtained the rank of lieutenant in the army. General Military Academy and was intended to Third Don Juan of Austria 3rd of the Legionin the Canary Islands. Eight years later, in 1998, he was promoted commander and got a position at the now-defunct organization’s headquarters European Rapid Working Group (Eurofor), where he spent another eight years before being promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2006. In 2009 he was appointed Chief of staff of the “Guzmán el Bueno” Mechanized Infantry Brigade at Cerro Muriano. It was at this time, in 2017, that the Ministry of Defense He offers him promotion to brigadier general.
Throughout his professional career, he has continued to travel to conflicting enclaves. Participated in the mission UNPROFOR of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993), where he was part of the first peacekeeping force during the Yugoslav Wars. He was also on one of the missions Spabrialso in Bosnia, in 1996; in the Eurofor Sarajevo in 2006; In Hidalgo freein Lebanon, in 2011, 2013 and 2016; In 2017, the X Brigade he led helped the army of Iraq to fight on the ground against the jihadist terrorism of the Islamic State. Lazarus therefore knew well Middle East.
Four Crosses of Military Merit. The commission of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo. Speak polyglot Spanish, English, French And Italian. A dozen international missions, collaborations as a security advisor and an impeccable CV. He was the ideal candidate. Coinciding with his appointment as brigadier general, the Minister of Defense, Marguerite Roblesand the Chief of Defense Staff (JEMAD), General Miguel Angel Villarroyathey proposed him as a candidate to occupy a relevant position in the organization chart of the blue helmets of the UN. His intention was to recover the Spanish presence in international missions after General Alberto Asartá –current deputy of Voice– led UNIFIL between 2012 and 2014.
General Aroldo Lázaro with Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
UNIFIL: the mission in Lebanon
In 2022, the call came. Spain’s dream of regaining its predominance on international territory was becoming a reality. Major General Aroldo Lázaro packed up his gear from Cerro Muriano and headed to Lebanon to lead the more than 10,500 troops of 50 nationalities who make up UNIFIL. His predecessor, the Italian Stefano del Colleaves him in charge of a complex situation marked by the instability of the borders between Israel, Syria And Lebanonthe three countries which “touch” the territory on which the mission of the peacemakers of the UN.
The main mission of UNIFIL has always been, since its creation in March 1978, to guarantee peace on the demarcation line of the border between Lebanon and Israel, more precisely to the south of the border. Litani River, where is the Blue line either Blue line. One of its main functions is to provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the event of war conflict and to guarantee the safe movement of potential refugees in the event that the former occurs. Its mandate advocates confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanonrestore international peace and security in the region and help the Lebanese government ensure its effective authority in the region.
En sus consecutivas resoluciones, el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU autorizó al UNIFIL (también conocido como FPNUL por sus siglas en inglés) a tomar las medidas necesarias en las zonas de despliegue de sus fuerzas “para garantizar que su zona de operaciones no se utilice para actividades hostiles de ningún tipo” y para “resistir los intentos por medios contundentes de impedirle el desempeño de sus funciones […] as well as to protect United Nations personnel, installations and equipment and to ensure security and freedom of movement of its staff and humanitarian workers.
Translated into Roman Paladin, the practical objective of UNIFIL is essentially to prevent Israel from invading the territory which separates it from southern Lebanon and to respect its agreement on the geographical limits demarcated by the UN. However, everything is about to change. Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the presence of Lázaro’s peacekeepers is “useless“and that part of the United Nations troops present in the territory must abandon it, because Tel Aviv cannot guarantee security of 10,500 soldiers (9,532 military personnel, including 669 Spaniards, and a thousand civilian employees).
The UN and the Moncloawhich plays a predominant role not only thanks to the leadership of Aroldo Lázaro, but also because one of these critical bases “threatened” by Netanyahu is in the eastern sector of the country. Blue doubleIn marjayoun. This is the Miguel de Cervantes100 kilometers from Beirutone of the enclaves hot of the region, and whose front is the brigadier general Guillermo Garcia del Barriowhich controls the detachment of 669 Spanish soldiers, the majority belonging to the Aragonese Brigadepart of the Castillejos Division of the Army.
The UN refuses to withdraw its troops and says they are essential to serve as international observers in the territory. “UNIFIL soldiers remain in place and the UN flag continues to fly, despite Israel’s request to move them,” the UN secretary-general said. Antonio Guterresto whom two days ago the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katzdescribed as “an anti-Israeli secretary general who supports terrorists, rapists and murderers.” Let them stay on the territory blue It keeps both sides at a distance and thus avoids possible incidents.
Distribution of UNIFIL military personnel on the “blue line” between Israel and Lebanon.
Map with the geographical distribution of UNIFIL military bases.
For now, the first frictions have already taken place on the ground. Israeli bombings took place near Spanish military bases. Each time, the anti-aircraft alarms roar and the UNIFIL troops, however well equipped they are, have to take refuge in their bunkers. Why the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attack the region knowing that there are UN peacekeepers? Because Hezbollah It launches most of its missiles from southern Lebanon, close to where peacekeeping forces are located. And Israel makes no concessions in what it has come to call its “strategy of defense” of its territorial integrity.
In conversation with SPANISHthe soldiers of the Spanish detachment themselves admitted that some rockets fell very close to them and that the tremors were perceptible in the Spanish contingent of Miguel de Cervantes. Israel warned Lazarus that the best thing he could do to avoid harm was to withdraw your troopsbut the decorated soldier from Sidi-Afni refused, believing that there were perhaps civilians who needed his help. The troops, for the moment, remain on site.
“The safety of peacekeeping personnel is of the utmost importance and all actors are reminded of their obligation to respect it,” UNIFIL explained in an official statement after the escalation of the war which began with triggering thousands of searches and searches. walkie talkies and I continued with that assassination of Hezbollah leaderHasan Nasrallah, in a selective bombing about Beirut.
“Any crossing into Lebanon constitutes a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and a violation of the law Resolution 1701. We urge all actors to refrain from such acts, which would only lead to more violence and bloodshed,” UNIFIL concluded in the statement.
