Dec 20 (Reuters) – Lebanon is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday, as the country races to meet a key demand for a ceasefire with Israel before the end of the year.
The U.S.-backed ceasefire agreed to in November 2024 ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the Iran-aligned militant group’s disarmament, starting in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.
Lebanese authorities, led by President Joseph Aoun and Salam, tasked the US-backed Lebanese army on August 5 with devising a plan to establish a state arms monopoly by the end of the year.
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‘Prime Minister Salam stated that the first phase of the arms consolidation plan related to the area south of the Litani River is a few days away from completion,’ said a statement from his office.
‘The state is ready to move to the second phase – i.e. (confiscating weapons) north of the Litani river – based on the plan prepared by the Lebanese army in accordance with a government mandate,’ Salam added.
The statement came after Salam spoke with Simon Karam, Lebanon’s chief civilian negotiator on a committee overseeing the truce between Hezbollah and Israel.
Since the ceasefire, the parties have regularly accused each other of violations, with Israel questioning the Lebanese army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah. Israeli warplanes have increasingly targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and even in the capital.
Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group, has tried to resist pressure – from its opponents in Lebanon, mostly Christians and Sunni Muslims, as well as the US and Saudi Arabia – to disarm, saying it would be a mistake as long as Israel continued its airstrikes on the country.
Israel has publicly called on Lebanese authorities to comply with the conditions of the truce, saying it will act ‘as necessary’ if Lebanon does not take action against Hezbollah.
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(By Laila Bassam)
