France envoy urges Lebanon to pick president

France envoy urges Lebanon to pick president
France’s envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian, left, meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at the Lebanese parliament in Beirut on Nov. 28, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 29 November 2024
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France envoy urges Lebanon to pick president

France envoy urges Lebanon to pick president
  • Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to Lebanon follows a fragile ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah
  • Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022

BEIRUT: France’s special envoy on Friday said it was urgent for Lebanon to elect a president, after a parliamentary vote to end over two years without a head of state was announced for January.
Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to Lebanon follows a fragile ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“I came to Lebanon immediately after the ceasefire announcement to signal France’s support for its full implementation and to stress the urgent need, more than ever, to elect a president and restart the institutional process,” he said on Friday.
He said he was in support of Thursday’s announcement by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of a presidential election to be held on 9 January.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, with neither of the two main blocs – the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents – having the majority required to elect one.
However, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a wartime speech that Hezbollah would “bring an effective contribution to the election of a president.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Wednesday he hoped the ceasefire agreement would mark “a new page for Lebanon,” calling for a swift presidential election.
Le Drian held talks with Lebanese officials and foreign diplomats from the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt – countries working to address Lebanon’s presidential crisis.
The special envoy has visited Lebanon several times since being appointed to the position by French President Emmanuel Macron in June 2023.


Lebanese defense minister condemns Israeli truce violations

Lebanese defense minister condemns Israeli truce violations
Updated 8 sec ago
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Lebanese defense minister condemns Israeli truce violations

Lebanese defense minister condemns Israeli truce violations
  • Ceasefire supervisory committee flies over South Litani sector
  • Lebanon closes land crossings with Syria as army patrols stop infiltrators

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army will continue to cooperate with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, government figures said on Friday in a meeting with visiting Italian officials.

Caretaker Defense Minister Maurice Slim highlighted Lebanon’s full adherence to UN Resolution 1701 during talks with his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto.

He condemned recent Israeli actions on Lebanese territory as a “blatant violation of the ceasefire terms.”

The meeting reviewed “military cooperation between Lebanon and Italy, along with the important role of the UNIFIL Italian contingent,” according to Slim’s office.

Crosetto briefed Slim on Italian efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon and “establish stability, particularly in the south, through existing cooperation between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army.”

Italy “will continue to support the Lebanese Army by organizing further conferences to enhance its capabilities, especially during this critical stage,” said Crosetto.

Slim said the Lebanese Army “will cooperate as much as possible with UNIFIL, particularly at this critical juncture, as the army plays a central role in maintaining security and stability in the south.”

Crosetto also met Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun.

Italian Army Chief Gen. Luciano Portolano was also present.

They discussed “ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries’ armies.”

The diplomatic efforts continued as Lebanon said it closed all land border crossings with Syria on Friday except for the central route linking Beirut to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The General Security Directorate said the Masnaa crossing will remain open for entries and exits.

The decision follows a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted Lebanese-Syrian border crossings on Friday morning.

Closing all but one border crossing will ensure the safety of civilians, the directorate said.

Public Works Ali Hamieh Minister told Reuters that the Israeli strikes targeted the Syrian side of the Aridah border crossing in the north and the Jousieh crossing on the eastern side.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the Lebanese Army set up checkpoints and dispatched patrols amid strict measures and procedures.

The agency said that the army was intensively deployed along the border area in Akkar and other villages and towns adjacent to Syrian territory.

In parallel to the Lebanese security measures, rapid military developments were taking place in Syria.

Armed opposition factions were advancing toward the Homs governorate, close to the Lebanese border.

Fears of infiltration attempts into Lebanese territory and illegal immigration also mounted in Lebanon.

Lebanese Army Command said on Friday that “two army units, backed by two military intelligence units, arrested 36 Syrians, including 24 people detained at the Deir Ammar checkpoint in the north, for residing in Lebanon without legal documentation, as well as 12 others in Beit Al-Tashm, Hermel, for clandestinely entering the country.”

Israeli Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed that Israel targeted Syrian routes used for transporting combat equipment, as well as infrastructure established near the border with Lebanon.

The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was signed more than a week ago but Israeli violations by air and land continue.

On Thursday night, Israeli drones and jets flew at low altitudes across Lebanese airspace, from Shebaa in the far south to Hermel in the far northeast, passing through Beirut and its southern suburb.

The number of Israeli violations exceeded 60 since the early hours of Nov. 27, resulting in the deaths of 15 people in a series of airstrikes, including one in Haris, which killed six civilians.

On Friday morning, Israeli military vehicles and tanks advanced into Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil district.

Aitaroun had been subjected to extensive Israeli combing operations with medium-caliber machine guns during the night.

The Israeli Army had prohibited residents of the border area from returning until further notice, continuing the demolition of buildings, houses and facilities it had begun before the ceasefire.

Lebanese Army Command said that the five-party committee overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, chaired by the US, would hold its first meeting early next week.

The committee conducted an aerial tour by helicopter over the South Litani sector and assessed the field situation.

It includes US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, French Brig. Gen. Guillaume Ponchin, and Lebanese representative and commander of the South Litani sector, Brig. Gen. Edgar Lowndes.

 


Air strike on Khartoum mosque kills 7: Sudan lawyers’ group

Air strike on Khartoum mosque kills 7: Sudan lawyers’ group
Updated 06 December 2024
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Air strike on Khartoum mosque kills 7: Sudan lawyers’ group

Air strike on Khartoum mosque kills 7: Sudan lawyers’ group
  • “The attack occurred as worshippers were leaving the mosque” after Friday noon prayers, said the Emergency Lawyers
  • Friday’s attack occurred on a mosque in Khartoum North, also known as Bahri

PORT SUDAN: A Sudanese military air strike on a north Khartoum mosque killed seven civilians on Friday, pro-democracy lawyers said, in a toll also confirmed by an activists’ committee.
“The attack occurred as worshippers were leaving the mosque” after Friday noon prayers, said the Emergency Lawyers, who have been documenting human rights abuses during the 19-month war between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The local resistance committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups across Sudan delivering frontline aid during the war, confirmed the death toll and said “a number of wounded” had also been transported for treatment.
The attack was “part of a series of arbitrary military assaults that do not discriminate between civilians and military targets,” the lawyers said in a statement, calling the strike a “crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of deliberately targeting civilians and indiscriminately shelling residential areas.
Friday’s attack occurred on a mosque in Khartoum North, also known as Bahri, which has been under near-total control of the RSF since the war began in April 2023.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the war and more than eight million internally uprooted in what the United Nations calls the world’s largest displacement crisis, with another three million having fled abroad.


GCC secretary-general holds high-level talks at Manama Dialogue

GCC secretary-general holds high-level talks at Manama Dialogue
Updated 06 December 2024
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GCC secretary-general holds high-level talks at Manama Dialogue

GCC secretary-general holds high-level talks at Manama Dialogue
  • Met with Chinese envoy and EU operation commander of EUNAVFOR Aspides

MANAMA: Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi held key meetings on the sidelines of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue, which began Friday in Bahrain.

The conference, being held under the theme “Middle East Leadership in Shaping Regional Prosperity and Security,” is organized by the IISS in collaboration with the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Albudaiwi met with Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for the Middle East, to discuss GCC-China relations, including progress on a free-trade agreement, Saudi Press Agency reported.

They also addressed Middle East issues of mutual interest, coordinated viewpoints on regional developments, and explored efforts to promote political stability and comprehensive peace, SPA added.

In a separate meeting, Albudaiwi spoke with Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis, EU operation commander of EUNAVFOR Aspides.

Their discussions focused on developments in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions and international efforts to ensure regional and shipping security.

Albudaiwi highlighted the GCC’s commitment to de-escalation and maintaining freedom of navigation in accordance with international law, as outlined in the final statement of the 45th GCC Supreme Council session.


Three killed in clashes between Druze militias and Syrian security forces in Sweida

Three killed in clashes between Druze militias and Syrian security forces in Sweida
Updated 06 December 2024
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Three killed in clashes between Druze militias and Syrian security forces in Sweida

Three killed in clashes between Druze militias and Syrian security forces in Sweida
  • Anti-government fighters also took control of the main police station

AMMAN/BEIRUT: At least three people were killed in clashes between Druze militias and security forces in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Friday, two witnesses and a local activist said.
They said anti-government fighters also took control of the main police station and the biggest civilian prison hours after hundreds of people protested in a main square demanding the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“People are seeing what is happening in the rest of Syria as liberation of Syria and a chance to bring down the regime,” activist Ryan Marouf, editor of Suwayda 24, a website that covers the province, told Reuters.
The outlet further showed footage of staff leaving the police headquarters building and a clip of fighters destroying a picture of Assad.
“The Sweida governor, the police and prison chiefs, and the local Baath Party leader left their offices in the city of Sweida, as local fighters took control of some checkpoints in the province,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.


Turkish diplomat named OSCE head after tense Malta talks

Turkish diplomat named OSCE head after tense Malta talks
Updated 06 December 2024
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Turkish diplomat named OSCE head after tense Malta talks

Turkish diplomat named OSCE head after tense Malta talks
  • Ian Borg, Malta’s foreign minister, told reporters the OSCE faced “fundamental geopolitical divisions and institutional paralysis“
  • Sinirlioglu said he hoped to act as “a bridge and a facilitator” between participating states

TA’QALI, Malta: The OSCE, the world’s largest regional security organization, agreed Friday on Turkish diplomat Feridun Sinirlioglu as its next leader, after a meeting marred by outrage over Russia’s participation.
The 57-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been paralyzed since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and has been without a secretary general since September.
Ian Borg, Malta’s foreign minister, told reporters the OSCE faced “fundamental geopolitical divisions and institutional paralysis.”
He said the agreement on a new secretary general and three other top posts had been “no easy feat” but hailed it as proof members could come together.
Borg did not rule out a deal on the budget — which has not been agreed since 2021 — by the end of the year.
Sinirlioglu, who has served as foreign minister and as Turkiye’s ambassador to Israel and the United Nations, said he hoped to act as “a bridge and a facilitator” between participating states.
Sinirlioglu, who takes over from Germany’s Helga Maria Schmid, also called on Russia to release three OSCE officials held in Russian-controlled Ukraine since 2022.
The Malta meeting was dominated by criticism of Russia, represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on his first trip to a European Union country since the invasion.
Ukraine boycotted last year’s OSCE meeting in North Macedonia over Lavrov’s presence.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga was present in Malta, but he and several allies walked out during Lavrov’s address.
Poland has led calls for Russia to be excluded from the OSCE, but Borg said it was vital to keep talking.
“I’d rather have the other... (members) telling Russia on the same table to stop this war,” he said.
“It’s easy to discuss and agree among friends,” he added, but it was important also, “especially with the backdrop of raging wars, to engage with those who started and can stop the war immediately.”
Malta took the 2025 chairmanship at the last minute after Russia blocked NATO member Estonia.
Finland, which joined NATO last year, is chair for 2025.
The OSCE was founded in 1975 to ease East-West tensions during the Cold War, and now counts members from the United States to Mongolia.
It helps coordinate issues such as human rights and arms control, but Moscow has accused the group of being politicized by the EU and NATO.