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US, Moroccan Militaries Conclude Joint Training Programs on Disaster Response

Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa
Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa
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US, Moroccan Militaries Conclude Joint Training Programs on Disaster Response

Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa
Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa

Moroccan and US military personnel have concluded a major disaster planning exercise and a four-week training program on handling explosive hazards, the US embassy announced on Thursday.

Members of the Utah National Guard are in Kasr Sghir this week participating in Exercise Maroc Mantlet, the premier disaster planning and preparedness exercise in the Kingdom, alongside partners from the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and Moroccan civilian agencies, it said.

This year’s exercise, for which the FAR led planning, featured a scenario based on a large-scale industrial catastrophe that requires search and rescue both on land and at sea, industrial fire-fighting in a HAZMAT environment, and crisis management at the national level.

“These joint training programs are a critical component of the close, strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States,” said US Army Major General Michael J. Turley, adjutant general of the Utah National Guard, who visited Morocco this week to observe the conclusion of these exercises.

“We are always working closely with our Moroccan partners to confront a range of possible threats, including natural disasters or industrial accidents, as well as conventional security concerns.”

Maroc Mantlet includes international observers from Djibouti, France, Jordan, Mauritania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Tunisia.

Morocco participates in more than 100 military engagements with US forces yearly. It hosts African Lion – the largest yearly military exercise on the continent – and is a major partner in both the US International Military Education and Training and Foreign Military Sales programs, the embassy said.

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UN Peacekeepers Say Troops Attacked by Individuals in South Lebanon

A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
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UN Peacekeepers Say Troops Attacked by Individuals in South Lebanon

A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)
A joint force from UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in Naqoura near the Israeli border (Archive - AFP)

United Nations peacekeepers said rock-throwing individuals confronted them during a patrol on Tuesday in south Lebanon, calling repeated targeting of their troops "unacceptable".

The UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed since 1978 to separate Lebanon and Israel, sits on a five-member committee to supervise the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

In a statement, UNIFIL said peacekeepers conducting "a planned patrol" coordinated with the Lebanese army were "confronted by a group of individuals in civilian clothing in the vicinity of Hallusiyat al-Tahta, in southern Lebanon".

"The group attempted to obstruct the patrol using aggressive means, including throwing stones at the peacekeepers," the statement read, adding that "one peacekeeper was struck" but no injuries were reported, AFP reported.

The situation was defused when the Lebanese army intervened, allowing the peacekeeping force to continue its patrol.

"It is unacceptable that UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to be targeted," the statement added.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP a Finnish soldier was slapped during the confrontation.

A witness, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said an altercation ensued between locals and the Lebanese army, who were searching for the man who slapped the peacekeeper.

One man opposing the army was injured and hospitalized, the witness said.

In a statement, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he "strongly condemns the repeated attacks" on UNIFIL forces and called for the attackers to be stopped and held accountable.

There have been several confrontations between people in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, and UN peacekeepers in recent weeks.

Confrontations are typically defused by the Lebanese army and rarely escalate.

In December 2022, an Irish peacekeeper was killed in a shooting at a UN armoured vehicle in the south. Hezbollah surrendered a man accused of the crime, but he was released around a year later.

The November ceasefire agreement, which sought to end over a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, states that only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers may be deployed in the country's south.

Israel is supposed to have fully withdrawn its troops from Lebanon according to the deal, but has remained in five positions it deems strategic and has repeatedly bombed the country.