Egypt on Tuesday called on the international community to better support the Lebanese army to ensure that all weapons in the country are under the sole control of the state.
At a preparatory meeting in Cairo ahead of a conference in Paris next month in support of the Lebanese army, Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, praised “the success of the Lebanese army in completing the first phase of the plan.”
“This achievement reflects the effectiveness of the military institution and requires the intensification of international support to complete the remaining phases of the plan,” Abdelatty said.
Last year, the Lebanese government committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was significantly weakened in the last conflict with Israel, and tasked the army with preparing a plan to implement this decision.
In January, in accordance with the 2024 ceasefire, the army announced that it had completed the first phase of the disarmament plan, which covers the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border, about 30 kilometers to the south.
Abdelatty stressed that the goal of Tuesday’s session was “to enable the Lebanese state to ensure that all weapons are exclusively in the hands of the state.”
The meeting was attended by Lebanon’s top security officials, including army commander General Rodolfo Haykal and director of the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces, Major General Raed Abdallah.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Quintet Committee for Lebanon, including the Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, the personal envoy of the French President Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Saudi envoy in Beirut Prince Yazid bin Farhan, and high-ranking officials from the United States.
The second phase of the plan focuses on the area between the Litani and Awali rivers, about 40 kilometers south of Beirut. Hezbollah has so far refused to hand over its weapons north of Litani.
The government said last week that the army would need at least four months to implement the second phase of the plan and disarm Hezbollah in the south of the country.
(Vijesti.ba)
