Lebanon says army ready to move to 2nd phase of arms monopoly

The Lebanese army is ready to move to the second phase of consolidating weapons under state control, which will extend from the Litani River southward to the Awali River, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said on Wednesday, Anadolu reports. The army “is ready to move to the second phase of consolidating arms under state authority, without a set timetable,” Mitri said in a speech at the eighth conference of the Carnegie Middle East Center, held in Beirut and attended by a number of current and former Lebanese ministers, as well as diplomats and journalists. “This phase extends from the Litani River to the Awali River,” he added. The deputy minister explained that the army commander “proposed a five-phase plan, starting […]