(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The United States government delivered a shipment of weapons and military equipment to the Lebanese Armed Forces on Friday, one
of the first of many anticipated handovers to boost Lebanon’s security forces in the face of growing threats from terrorists.
The shipment included M-16 rifles, anti-tank system, and many sizes of mortars, which were handed to the Army at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to security sources.
The United States previously donated several billions of dollars in supplies to the Lebanese Army over the last decade, but the majority of donations were strictly nonlethal equipment. They included armored personnel carriers and light aircraft and communication systems.
France and the United Kingdom have also pledged military aid, while Saudi Arabia announce a$1 billion donation to the Lebanese Army.
The five days of clashes in Arsal, the worst spillover yet from the more than 3-year-old Syrian civil war, left 19 soldiers dead. Tensions rose again Thursday in the border region after the Army shelled militant positions in the outskirts of Arsal and ISIS claimed to have beheaded one captive Lebanese soldier.