BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Friday announced the liberation of the border town of Al-Qaim in Anbar province from Daesh.
Iraqi security forces, backed by the US-led international coalition and Shiite-dominated paramilitaries, have been pushing to gain control over the vast desert of Anbar, Daesh’s last bastion in Iraq. It includes many towns along the Iraq-Syria border, which extends for more than 600 km.
Baghdad has regained control of more than 90 percent of Iraqi territory seized by Daesh. While the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) liberated Al-Qaim, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) liberated the town of Karrabla along the southern Euphrates, said Lt. Gen. Abdulamir Rashid Yarallah, commander of the Western Anbar Clearance Operation.
Security forces also recaptured the Hussieba border crossing in Al-Qaim that leads to Deir Ezzor, Daesh’s largest stronghold in Syria, Yarallah said.
Al-Abadi congratulated Iraqis on Al-Qaim’s liberation in a “record period.” The main goals of the military operation, which was launched on Oct. 26, is to retake the border crossings between Iraq and Syria, and to cut Daesh’s cross-border supply routes, military officers told Arab News.
“We have to reopen all the crossings with Syria, but we can’t do this before completely clearing the area of militants,” one of them said.
A “huge security and intelligence” operation to scan the area and destroy Daesh hideouts is being planned, the officer added. “The area is full of hidden camps.”
The operation is relying on equipment from the US-led coalition, including drones and satellites, to scan the desert, military sources told Arab News.
Although the military map circulated by the media war cell on Friday evening showed that the forces liberated more than 60 percent of the targeted region, several military officers involved in the campaign said that “the operation is still in its infancy.”
“We cannot say when the operation will end. We are still at the very beginning of the first stage of the operation,” a senior military officer told Arab News.
“Most areas located on the northern bank of the Euphrates are still in the hands of the militants,” the officer said. “Also, we know that the area is full of hidden camps (for the militants), so we cannot say we fully liberated (the area) till we find all the terror camps and destroy them.”
Iraqi Prime Minister: Iraqi forces have retaken Al-Qaim from Daesh
Iraqi Prime Minister: Iraqi forces have retaken Al-Qaim from Daesh
Aoun hails disarmament progress: ‘Lebanon achieved in 1 year what it had not seen in 4 decades’
- President Joseph Aoun highlights achievements during first year in office despite many challenges
- Army announced this month it had successfully disarmed Hezbollah in the south of the country
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed on Tuesday that the country’s armed forces “are now the sole operational authority south of the Litani River, despite doubts, accusations of treason, insults and slander.”
Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Baabda during a traditional New Year meeting with members of the diplomatic corps and the heads of international missions, he highlighted what he viewed as Lebanon’s achievements since he took office on Jan. 9, 2025.
The government’s approval in August and September last year of plans to bring all weapons in the country under state control, and ensure the authority of the state across all Lebanese territory using its own forces, was “no minor detail,” he said.
“Lebanon achieved in one year what it had not seen in four decades,” he added, as he recalled taking office in a “deeply wounded state” that has suffered decades of institutional paralysis and economic crises.
Despite campaigns of distortion, intimidation and misinformation, and Israel’s failure to abide by the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, the changed reality on the ground over the past 12 months speaks for itself, he said.
“The truth is what you see, not what you hear,” Aoun said, pointing out that “not a single bullet was fired from Lebanon during my first year in office, except for two specific incidents recorded last March, the perpetrators of which were swiftly arrested by official authorities.”
The army carried out “extensive operations” to clear large areas of the country of illegal weapons regardless of who controlled them, the president continued, in line with the terms of the Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement with Israel, which he described as “an accord Lebanon respects and that was unanimously endorsed by the country’s political forces.”
These efforts reflected a determination to spare the country a return to the “suicidal conflicts that have come at a heavy cost in the past,” he added.
Aoun stressed his commitment during the second year of his presidency to restoring control of all Lebanese territory to the exclusive authority of the state, securing the release of prisoners, and the reconstruction of war-ravaged areas.
He said that southern Lebanon, like all of the country’s international borders, would fall under the sole control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, putting a definitive end to any attempts “to draw us into the conflicts of others, even as those same parties pursue dialogue, negotiations and compromises in pursuit of their own national interests.”
The Lebanese Army Command announced early this month the completion of the first phase of its plans to disarm nonstate groups south of the Litani River. The government is now awaiting an army report next month detailing its next steps.
Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, the army’s commander, has said that the plan “does not have a specific time frame for completing this phase, which encompasses all Lebanese regions.”
A Lebanese official confirmed to Arab News that the army now has exclusive control of territory south of the Litani River, and no other armed forces or military factions have a presence there.
Aoun’s affirmation of his determination to “stay on course” came two days after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem gave a sharply worded speech that delivered both implicit and explicit rebukes aimed at the president and Foreign Minister Youssef Raji.
His criticisms focused on their efforts to take control of weapons north of the Litani River, following a declaration by Aoun that “the time for arms is over,” a position that Hezbollah vehemently rejects in what appears to be an attempt to derail the gradual, phased disarmament strategy embraced by the Lebanese government and the international community.
Progress in the efforts of the military to take control of all weapons in the country hinges on securing vital logistical support for the country’s armed forces, a condition tied to the International Conference for Supporting the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces, which is due to take place on March 5 in Paris.
Aoun told the diplomats that the conference is the result of efforts led by the international Quintet Committee supporting Lebanon: the US, Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar and Egypt.
Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the papal ambassador to Lebanon, speaking in his role as dean of the diplomatic corps, said that the current crisis in the country serves “as a harsh test” that must remind political leaders of their duty to prevent history from repeating itself.
He called for respect for all electoral processes as a vital part of any nation’s democratic life, and for “genuine peace without weapons, one that can disarm enemies through the convincing power of goodness and the strength of meeting and dialogue.”
He added: “Those holding the highest public offices must give special attention to rebuilding political relationships peacefully, both nationally and globally, a process grounded in mutual trust, honest negotiations and faithful adherence to commitments made.”
