BEIRUT: International Monetary Fund official Jihad Azour, who has been nominated for the long-vacant Lebanese presidency, has “temporarily relinquished” his responsibilities at the lender, an official at the body said Thursday.
“In order to avoid any perception of conflict of interest, the director of the Middle East and Central Asia department has temporarily relinquished his responsibilities at the IMF,” said the organization’s director of strategic communications Julie Kozack, referring to Azour.
“He is on leave,” she added.
Azour, who served as Lebanon’s finance minister from 2005 to 2008, has yet to officially announce a presidential bid.
Lebanon, mired in a crippling economic crisis since late 2019, has been without a president for more than seven months, and has been run by a caretaker government since May last year.
The international community has urged Lebanese officials to avoid a prolonged presidential vacuum and enact key reforms required to unlock much-needed IMF loans.
Lawmakers have made 11 failed attempts to elect a new head of state, as bitter divisions prevent any single candidate from garnering enough support.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a new vote on the presidency for next week.
On Sunday, a group of 32 Christian and independent legislators endorsed Azour after weeks of negotiations.
By convention, Lebanon’s presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
The Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement, which holds huge sway over political life in Lebanon, has instead endorsed the pro-Syria Sleiman Frangieh.
On Thursday, Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc renewed its support for Frangieh, saying in a statement that it considered him “a natural candidate who is reassuring for a large segment of Lebanon.”
The Shiite movement’s key Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, has said it would support Azour.
French President Emmanuel Macron this week named his former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon, in a new bid to end the country’s political crisis.
Last month, the United States urged Lebanese politicians to elect a new president “to unite the country” and swiftly enact reforms.
“Lebanon’s leaders must not put their personal interests and ambitions above the interests of their country and people,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Lebanon presidential nominee temporarily steps away from IMF role
https://arab.news/rfqsy
Lebanon presidential nominee temporarily steps away from IMF role
- Azour, who served as Lebanon's finance minister from 2005 to 2008, has yet to officially announce a presidential bid
- Lebanon, mired in a crippling economic crisis since late 2019, has been without a president for more than seven months
Supplies running out at Syria’s Al-Hol camp as clashes block aid deliveries
DAMASCUS: An international humanitarian organization has warned that supplies are running out at a camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to the Daesh group, as the country’s government fights to establish control over an area formerly controlled by Kurdish fighters.
The late Friday statement by Save the Children came a week after government forces captured Al-Hol camp, which is home to more than 24,000 people, mostly children and women, including many wives or widows of Daesh members.
The capture of the camp came after intense fighting earlier this month between government forces and members of the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during which forces loyal to interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa captured wide areas in eastern and northeastern Syria.
The SDF signed a deal to end the fighting after suffering major defeats, but sporadic clashes between it and the government have continued.
Save the Children said that “critical supplies in Al-Hol camp are running dangerously low” as clashes are blocking the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.
It added that last week’s clashes around the camp forced aid agencies to temporarily suspend regular operations at Al-Hol. It added that the main road leading to the camp remains unsafe, which is preventing humanitarian workers from delivering food and water or running basic services for children and families.
“The situation in Al-Hol camp is rapidly deteriorating as food, water and medicines run dangerously low,” said Rasha Muhrez, Save the Children Syria country director. “If humanitarian organizations are unable to resume work, children will face still more risks in the camp, which was already extremely dangerous for them before this latest escalation.”
Muhrez added that all parties to the conflict must ensure a safe humanitarian corridor to Al-Hol so basic services can resume and children can be protected. “Lives depend on it,” she said.
The SDF announced a new agreement with the central government on Friday, aiming to stabilize a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and lay out steps toward integrating the US-backed force into the army and police forces.
