Indonesian Navy Prepares 120 Soldiers Again For UNIFIL MTF In Lebanon

BETWEEN/HO-The Indonesian Navy Information Service.

The Indonesian Navy has again prepared 120 soldiers who have gone through a series of selection stages to serve with the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF) in Lebanon in 2025.

Head of the Indonesian Navy Information Service (Kadispenal) First Admiral TNI I Made Wira Hady Arsanta explained that the Indonesian Navy soldiers are currently undergoing pre-official training at the Fleet Command II Training Command, Surabaya, East Java.

In the series of pre-official exercises, Kadispenal said that the Operation Assistant (Asops) of the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Rear Admiral TNI Yayan Sofiyan, provided briefing to 120 Indonesian Navy soldiers of the MTF TNI Task Force (Satgas) Garuda XXVIII-P/UNIFIL contingent in Surabaya.

Asops KSAL in its briefing materials emphasized that the soldiers of the Indonesian Navy, the UNIFIL MTF Task Force in Lebanon, aim to help the United Nations maintain stability, security, and maintain peace.

"Continue to train and hone skills to face the dynamics of the challenges of duty as a peacekeeping force, because to face increasingly complex tasks, a professional, reliable, and modern Indonesian Navy soldier is needed," said Asops KSAL to the UNIFIL SatgasMTF soldiers as reported by ANTARA, Friday, October 11.

Indonesian Navy troops who are members of the TNI MTF Task Force Garuda XXVIII-P/UNIFIL contingent are scheduled to sail with KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda-367 to Beirut Harbor, Lebanon in December 2024. The troops are led by the Commander of the TNI MTF Task Force Garuda Contingent (Konga) XXVIII-P/UNIFIL Marine Lt. Col. (P) Anugerah Annurullah, who is currently the Commander of KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda-367.

The MTF Task Force currently being prepared by the Indonesian Navy consists of Indonesian Navy soldiers from warship drivers, pilot officers, lighting officers, psychological officers, intelligence officers, health officers, soldiers from the Frog Troop Command (Kopaska), and divers.

The TNI MTF Task Force for the Garuda XXVIII-P/UNIFIL Contingent will continue the task of the MTF TNI Task Force, Konga XXVIII-O/UNIFIL, which is currently still on duty with KRI Diponegoro-365 in Beirut, Lebanon.

From the headquarters of Koarmada II, Surabaya, KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda is scheduled to sail to Jakarta, then to Batam, Sri Lanka, Oman, Egypt, and arrive at the destination of Beirut, Lebanon.

Maritime Task Force (MTF) is one of the units under the control of the United Nations Peace Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

In addition to MTF, the TNI also sent its troops to join other UNIFIL units which included the Mechanical Battalion Task Force (INDOBATT), the Headquarters/Force Headquarters Support Unit Support Unit (FHQSU) Support Task Force, the Indo Force Protection Company (FPC) Task Force, the Civil-Military Coordination Task Force / Civilian Military Coordination (CIMIC) TNI, the Military Community Outreach Unit (MCOU) Task Force, and the Level 2 Hospital Task Force.

Most of the TNI soldiers who are members of UNIFIL operate on land, while the MTF Task Force carries out its duties at sea.

In recent weeks, the situation in Lebanon has escalated considering the Israeli military (IDF) continues to launch various air and land attacks on residential areas of civilians and to UN headquarters.

The Israeli military on Thursday morning targeted the UNIFIL observation tower at UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqura, and fired weapons from the Merkava tank towards the observation tower. As a result, two TNI soldiers who served with UNIFIL in the guard tower were injured.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi strongly condemned the Israeli military attack targeting the UN peacekeeper and TNI soldier. Retno said Indonesia would never be afraid to help the United Nations maintain peace in Lebanon.

"Attacks are Israel's terror efforts against peacekeeping forces and the international community. Indonesia emphasizes that those who are steadfast in the principle of peace will never be afraid," said the Foreign Minister.