WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: US President Donald Trump’s administration approved $230 million for Lebanon’s security forces this week as they push to disarm the once powerful armed group Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces.
Democratic US congressional aides said the funds had been released just before Washington’s fiscal year ended on September 30. “For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant,” one of the aides said on a call with reporters, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
The funding was released at a time when the Republican president’s administration has been slashing many foreign assistance programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer dollars is America First.
The release of the funds appeared to reflect the priority Trump has put on trying to resolve the conflict in Gaza and the wider region.
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that US assistance supports Lebanese forces “as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the only viable framework for a durable security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis.”
The resolution, adopted in August 2006, ended the last round of deadly conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
A conflict between Israel and Lebanon that began a year ago has battered Hezbollah and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the US-backed army on August 5 to devise a plan to ensure that all arms across the country would be in the hands of security forces by the end of the year.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm since the devastating war with Israel. But the Iran-backed group is under pressure to give up its weapons from its rivals in Lebanon and from Washington.
The Lebanese source said the funding would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security in Lebanon so the LAF can focus on other critical missions.
US ‘sends $230m to Lebanon’ as it moves to disarm Hezbollah
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US ‘sends $230m to Lebanon’ as it moves to disarm Hezbollah
- The funding includes $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces, a Lebanese source said
Tunisian police clash with youths in Kairouan after man’s death
- Tunisia President Kais Saied shut down parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021 in what he called a move to root out rampant corruption and mismanagement, but which the opposition called a coup
TUNIS: Clashes erupted for a second night on Saturday between police and youths in the central Tunisian city of Kairouan after a man died following a police chase, according to his family, fueling authorities’ fears that protests could spread across the country. As Tunisia prepares to mark the January anniversary of the 2011 revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring uprising, tensions have risen amid protests, and a powerful UGTT union call for a nationwide strike next month. Thousands have been protesting for weeks in the southern city of Gabes, demanding the closure of a chemical plant on environmental grounds.
Witnesses said demonstrators in Kairouan threw stones, petrol bombs and flares, and blocked streets by burning tires, prompting police to disperse crowds with tear gas.
The family said the man, riding a motorcycle without a license, was chased by police, beaten, and taken to a hospital. He later fled and died on Friday from a head injury.
The government was not immediately available to comment. Relatives of the deceased said they will not remain silent and will spark major protests if those responsible are not held accountable.
In a bid to defuse tensions, Kairouan’s governor visited the family on Saturday evening and pledged to open an investigation to determine the circumstances of the death and establish accountability, witnesses said.
Tunisia President Kais Saied shut down parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021 in what he called a move to root out rampant corruption and mismanagement, but which the opposition called a coup.
Rights groups accuse Saied of using the judiciary and police to stifle criticism, something that Saied denies.
