A FORMER Irish Army chief will continue fighting for peace after surviving a car bomb explosion in war-torn Yemen, a former colleague insists.
Retired Major-General Michael Beary, 66, was travelling as part of a United Nations convoy when a landmine exploded under his armoured SUV.
He’s been in Yemen since December last year as head of a UN mission to try and reduce violence in the country.
Mr Beary’s vehicle hit an explosive device in Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah as they headed to supervise the destruction of military explosives.
Two armoured vehicles were reportedly damaged in the attack.
Ex-Army Ranger Dr Cathal Berry, who worked with former Major General Beary during their time in the Defence Forces, yesterday said the explosion will not stop the Irish diplomat continuing his important work in Yemen.
The Independent Kildare TD last night told the Irish Sun: “He has been in numerous situations like that before.
“He has spent over 40 years of his life in the Defence Forces. He is one of the good guys and he will have no problem bouncing back from that. This won’t deter him in any shape or form.
“He will just persevere and keep doing the job he’s been asked to do because he is the ultimate professional.”
Senior Irish diplomat Beary was appointed to his UN role last year and is working to bring peace back to the Middle Eastern country that has been suffering through a civil war since 2014.
More than 24m people are in need of humanitarian aid and protection.
The UN yesterday said the blast “is a reminder of the dangers that the people of Hudaydah face daily due to explosive remnants of war”.
And they said groups in Yemen must “take urgent and concrete measures to clear contaminated areas and reduce the devastating impact of landmines”.
Defence Minister Simon Coveney said he was “shocked” at the explosion.
And Deputy Berry told The Irish Sun the blast shows the need for adequate resourcing of the Defence Forces.
He said: “The armoured Land Cruiser that they were in certainly did its job. It did its job admirably and that’s exactly why we have armoured vehicles and that’s why it’s so important that there is adequate resourcing of the Defence Forces because if that was a soft skin vehicle the outcome would have been utterly, utterly different.”
Mr Beary — joined the Irish Army in 1975 — has been deployed all over the globe, including in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia and Uganda.
