Jordan Times
Friday, August 18, 2006
Jordan sends engineers
and bomb disposal units to Lebanon
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) dispatched
on Thursday more than 200 engineers and bomb disposal experts to Lebanon to help
rebuild bridges and defuse unexploded ammunition in the aftermath of the Israeli
attacks, a JAF spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that three planes carrying the army personnel along with
their equipment left yesterday heading to Lebanon upon directives from His
Majesty King Abdullah.
“The engineers will help the Lebanese authorities in reconstructing bridges and
they will also create temporary bridges to link all parts of the country
together after many bridges were destroyed,” the JAF spokesperson told The
Jordan Times.
According to official Lebanese figures, some 80 bridges were destroyed by the
relentless Israeli bombardment during the 34-day conflict that began on July 12,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Lebanese businessmen and private companies have pledged to rebuild 12 of the 80
destroyed bridges, the news agency said.
The JAF spokesperson confirmed that the engineers and experts are expected to
stay in Lebanon more than a week and will also defuse unexploded ordinance to
prevent further loss of life.
In this regard, AFP reported that UN agencies and the Lebanese authorities have
warned civilians to exercise “extreme caution” because of the large quantities
of unexploded artillery and mortar shells.
Its is estimated that on average, 10 per cent of artillery shells, mortars and
other projectiles did not explode on impact.
Since the start of the conflict, Jordan has been at the forefront of efforts to
get relief supplies into the country after the Israelis imposed a land, sea and
air blockade, which began with missile strikes on Beirut’s international
airport.
In late July, the Kingdom sent a team of engineering corps to repair the
airport’s runways and pave the way for much needed relief aid.
Jordan has also set up a field hospital in Beirut that has so far treated some
11,350 war injured, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
Also Thursday, a Jordanian plane along with two others from the UAE landed in
Beirut loaded with humanitarian aid.
Thursday’s planes bring the total amount of aid planes to leave Amman for Beirut
to 37, Petra reported.