King Felipe VI visits Spanish troops at UNIFIL, south Lebanon

Marjayoun, Lebanon – King Felipe VI of Spain arrived on Wednesday at the Miguel de Cervantes military base to visit the 558 Spanish troops deployed under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL.

Last January, Spanish Cpl. Francisco Javier Soria was killed in the area by an Israeli shell fired as a response to an attack by the Hezbollah militant group.

Arriving by helicopter with Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenes, the Spanish monarch was received at the base by Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samir Mokbel, UNIFIL commander Luciano Portolano, and the head of the multinational brigade of the eastern sector, Antonio Ruiz Olmos.

The meeting with the Spanish troops on Wednesday concluded Felipe’s first official visit to Lebanon as king, which started on Tuesday in Beirut where he met with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

This is the king’s second visit to the Miguel de Cervantes base, as he visited it in 2008 when he was still the crown prince.