Trump administration allocated $230 million to Lebanon to disarm "Hezbollah" - Reuters

The administration of US President Donald Trump this week approved the allocation of $230 million to Lebanon's security forces as part of efforts to disarm the once-powerful armed group Hezbollah, Reuters reports, citing sources in Washington and Beirut, writes UNN.

Details

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.

The Lebanese source said the funding would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security in Lebanon so that the Armed Forces could focus on other important tasks.

Aides to a US Democratic congressman said the funds were allocated just before the end of the fiscal year in Washington on September 30. "For a small country like Lebanon, this is really very, very important," one aide said.

The funding was allocated at a time when the administration of the Republican US president was cutting many foreign aid programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer money was "America First."

The allocation of funds seems to reflect the priority Trump places on attempts to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the region as a whole, the publication writes.

In response to a request for comment, a State Department official said in a statement that US assistance supports Lebanese forces "working to assert Lebanon's sovereignty throughout the country and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 – the only viable framework for a long-term security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis."

Addition

The resolution, adopted in August 2006, ended the last round of bloody conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The conflict between Israel and Lebanon, which began a year ago, inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah and turned many areas of Lebanon into ruins, the publication notes.

On August 5, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam appealed to the US-backed army to develop a plan that would ensure the transfer of all weapons throughout the country to the security forces by the end of the year.

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Hezbollah rejects calls for disarmament after a devastating war with Israel. However, the Iranian-backed group is under pressure from its opponents in Lebanon and Washington to surrender its weapons.