The Lebanese Army has taken control of most Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon and has begun to take control of sites north of the Litani River, according to reports in Lebanese media on Saturday.
Sources close to Hezbollah told AFP that the terror group had handed control of most of its military sites in southern Lebanon over to the Lebanese Army, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement that required only the army and UN forces to be present south of the Litani.
Hezbollah is reported to have surrendered control of 190 of the 265 military positions it held south of the river. Lebanese media widely reported that the army had nearly completed the dismantling of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the south.
Sources close to the Lebanese presidency and premiership told French-language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour that the Lebanese Army had begun entering Hezbollah military camps north of the Litani River, but provided few details.
L’Orient reported that no clashes had occurred, indicating that the handover of Hezbollah sites was happening peacefully and that further agreements were expected to formalize the handover process.
Marking 50 years
President Joseph Aoun marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese Civil War on Saturday night by denouncing the launching of rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel, saying that they were not serving Lebanese interests.
“These actions provide an additional pretext for Lebanon’s enemies to launch aggression against it, and the Lebanese must agree to condemn and reject them.”
Aoun, who was elected following Hezbollah’s defeat last year, has been a consistent force pushing for the dismantling and disarming of Hezbollah and restoring full security control to the Lebanese state.
Lebanese MP and Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel called on Hezbollah to disarm and hand security control over to the Lebanese state. He was joined by Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea, who gave Hezbollah a six-month ultimatum to complete the transfer of control.
Hezbollah was the only militia permitted to maintain its weapons following the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, under the condition that it was exclusively dedicated to fighting Israel.