Moldova joins UNIFIL

The Moldovan National Army deployed four soldiers to UNIFIL on 23 August (photo of send-off ceremony at Military Camp 142). (Moldovan MoD)

The Moldovan National Army deployed four soldiers to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on 23 August, the Ministry of Defence announced on its website the next day.

Seeing them off at Military Camp 142 in Chişinău, Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi said that the officers and sergeants went through a rigorous selection process and are trained according to international standards. He called for them “to make the maximum effort in the execution of the tasks set by the Italian force command and to be interoperable with the armies of the states participating in UNIFIL”.

Team leader Lieutenant Colonel Igor Molodoi said that he and the three soldiers he leads would spend six months in UNIFIL headquarters. This will be followed by the deployment of 32 professional soldiers of the Moldovan National Army to UNIFIL in February 2023, also operating under the Italian command. This will be Moldova's first troop deployment on a UN mission, as Chişinău has only contributed experts and staff officers to UN missions so far.

The Moldovan parliament approved participation in UNIFIL in November 2021.

UNIFIL has more than 10,000 soldiers from 48 countries.