Five Fijian soldiers had gone missing in the United States of America while on their way home from Lebanon, as reported by The Fiji Times on April 8, 2000.
A senior military officer from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces said the five were sent home to answer charges relating to an incident, where they were caught fighting outside a pub in Lebanon.
The officer said the soldiers were on their way home to face a court martial after military police investigated the incident.
“The Lebanese men involved in the brawl complained to commanding officers who ordered the investigations,” the officer said.
He said they were put on a flight out of Lebanon and sent home via the United States.
However, they were not escorted and while awaiting a connecting flight to Fiji, the five soldiers disappeared, the officer said.
He said any soldier facing disciplinary action or sent home sick must be accompanied by either a senior officer or a doctor.
In this case, normal army procedure was not followed, nor was the issues taken seriously, the officer said.
In another incident, two Fiji soldiers arrived in the country without completing their one-year peacekeeping duties in the Middle East because of medical reasons.
Chief Protocol Officer Colonel Ratu George Kadavulevu said the men suffered “ailments that required long-term recovery arrangements and constant medical observations”.
He refused to say what the men were suffering from but added that their cases were curable and could be treated in Fiji.
Colonel Ratu George said the repatriation of the soldiers was in line with the United Nations regulations and they would have needed the help of their wives.
He highlighted the shooting of Private Anare Waqavonovono who died in a hail of bullets fired by a colleague in Lebanon in March 15 after an argument.
The military has been tight lipped about the incident, saying it would issue a statement when investigations were complete.
