BEIRUT: The Syrian army and Hezbollah prepared on Monday to transport Daesh fighters from their enclave on the border with Lebanon to eastern Syria after a week-long offensive against the jihadist group.
It will end any militant presence on the border, an important goal for Lebanon and the Shiite Hezbollah group, and is the first time Daesh has publicly agreed to evacuate territory under force.
Daesh agreed a cease-fire on Sunday with the Lebanese army on one front and the Syrian army and Hezbollah on the other after losing much of its mountainous enclave straddling the border, paving the way for its evacuation.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese group, has been a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad during Syria’s six-year civil war. The Lebanese army said its offensive against Daesh did not involve coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.
The militants will move out of their positions to a point on the Syrian side of the border where they will board vehicles along with their families to transport them to Albukamal in east Syria, a Lebanese security source said.
Syria’s state-run Ikhbariya news channel reported on Monday that the group was burning its machinery and headquarters.
A witness in Syria at the position where buses are gathering to receive the Daesh fighters said black smoke was visible in the hills and that Syrian army and Hezbollah vehicles were present.
The deal involved Daesh revealing the fate of nine Lebanese soldiers it captured when it overran the town of Arsal in Lebanon in 2014.
A senior Lebanese security official said late on Sunday the soldiers were almost certainly dead after recovering six bodies and digging for two others in areas previously held by Daesh.
Earlier this month, two other pockets straddling the border were recaptured by Lebanon and Syria after other militant groups accepted similar evacuation deals.
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Daesh prepares to evacuate Syria-Lebanon border zone
Daesh prepares to evacuate Syria-Lebanon border zone
UN chief slams ‘unlawful attacks’, says Mideast could spiral out of control
- Antonio Guterres calls for serious diplomatic negotiations
- UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher describes deadly alliance of 'technology and killing with impunity'
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Friday “unlawful attacks” across the Middle East and warned that the situation could spiral out of control as the conflict spreads to multiple countries.
US and Israeli forces launched a massive air campaign against Iran on February 28. Iran has retaliated with strikes against Israel and Gulf countries.
Washington said it aimed to curb nuclear and missile threats from Tehran but it has also decapitated the country’s government, and President Donald Trump is now demanding “unconditional surrender.”
“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region — and pose a grave risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people,” Guterres said.
“The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Friday that “we’re seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly a billion dollars a day, funding this war spent on destruction, while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those in greatest need.”
“We’re seeing an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity,” he added.
Fletcher said “we’re seeing a sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare.”
He also reflected mounting concern about the war’s other impacts, warning that “it tears through markets, supply chains, food prices, and when that happens, it’s the most vulnerable people who are hit first and hardest.”
US and Israeli forces launched a massive air campaign against Iran on February 28. Iran has retaliated with strikes against Israel and Gulf countries.
Washington said it aimed to curb nuclear and missile threats from Tehran but it has also decapitated the country’s government, and President Donald Trump is now demanding “unconditional surrender.”
“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region — and pose a grave risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people,” Guterres said.
“The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Friday that “we’re seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly a billion dollars a day, funding this war spent on destruction, while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those in greatest need.”
“We’re seeing an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity,” he added.
Fletcher said “we’re seeing a sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare.”
He also reflected mounting concern about the war’s other impacts, warning that “it tears through markets, supply chains, food prices, and when that happens, it’s the most vulnerable people who are hit first and hardest.”
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