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Al-Jazeera host faces slander charges over Lebanese Army comments

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A lawsuit was filed against Al-Jazeera TV anchor Faisal al-Qassem on Monday by Lebanese lawyers over anti-Army remarks he made over the weekend.

Qassem is widely recognized as an anti-regime Syrian journalist and host of Al-Itijah al-Muakis on Al-Jazeera.

Qassem posted on his Twitter account that the only achievements of the Lebanese Army has been shooting video clips with Lebanese singers Wael Kfoury, Najwa Karam, Elissa, and Haifa Wehbe.

Outraged by the comments, a delegation of Lebanese lawyers filed a lawsuit against Qassem for violating Articles 295 and 157 of the Lebanese Penal Code.

According to a statement released by the lawyers Monday, the purpose behind the lawsuit was Qassem’s remarks amounted to a “provocation of Lebanese public opinion through indirect incitement against the Army.”

His tweets are a violation of Article 295 of the penal law, according to the statement.

In addition to voicing contempt against the Army via a publicized medium mentioned in Article 209, Qassem has also violated Article 157, which can result in imprisonment for up to three years.

A group of Lebanese activists held a protest at the offices of Al-Jazeera television station in Beirut Sunday expressing anger over comments made by a journalist against the Lebanese Army.

Lebanon’s state prosecution office called Qassem for a hearing on October 8.

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 News

Lebanon struggles to address captive troops crisis

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon’s government is forming a crisis committee to handle the case of some two dozen members of the security forces held captive by Syrian militants amid escalating criticism over its response to the hostage affair.

Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said Thursday that Prime Minister Tammam Salam will head the committee, which will also include the defense, finance, interior, foreign and justice ministers.

Militants, including from the Islamic State extremist group, seized around 30 soldiers and policemen after overrunning a Lebanese border town in early August.

Some have since been released. Human Rights Watch says an estimated 14 policemen and 12 soldiers are still being held.

Relatives of the missing have rallied outside the government building in Beirut to demand action to secure the captives’ release.

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France, Saudi Arabia “finalizing” $3B Lebanese arms deal

(PARIS, FRANCE) — France and Saudi Arabia are close to signing a $3 billion arms deal for Lebanon, the Elysee Palace said late Monday following talks between President Francois Hollande and the Saudi crown prince.

“It will not be signed Monday but it is being finalized,” an aide to the president said.

The deal is for military equipment and arms to be supplied to Lebanon’s army.

Hollande told an official dinner at the Elysee presidential palace attended by Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, who is also the Saudi deputy prime minister and defense minister, that Lebanon was a “great but vulnerable country” which “needs security.”

“We have come together, Saudi Arabia and France, to help Lebanon on the condition that it also helps itself, for its own security,” Hollande added, without commenting directly on the joint contract.

The deal comes as Beirut faces the threat of jihadists on its border with Syria. More than a million refugees have fled the war in Syria by escaping to Lebanon, according to figures from the United Nations.

Hollande added that France and Saudi Arabia had a “shared priority of peace and security in the Middle East.”

Salman is due to hold talks with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Tuesday.

He is also due to meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Wednesday for talks over the situation in Iraq and Syria, where jihadists have seized swaths of territory and are terrorizing Christians and other minorities.

Last week, Hollande rejected any cooperation with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom he accused of being a “de-facto ally” of Islamic State militants, after the regime said it was willing to work with the international community to tackle the jihadists.

And in comments carried on national TV at the weekend, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah warned the West would be the next target of the jihadists sweeping through Syria and Iraq, unless there is “rapid” action.

“If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month,” he said in remarks quoted Saturday by the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper and Saudi-backed Al-Arabiya television station.

The visit comes just over two weeks after another member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd, fell victim to a brazen heist in Paris when a gang of heavily armed bandits hijacked the lead vehicle of his 10-car convoy and stole at least 250,000 euros and documents.

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Lebanese Army receives body of beheaded Lebanese soldier

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Lebanese Army confirmed that it has received the body of one of its soldiers who was beheaded by ISIS militants last week. He was among 11 troops reported missing, believed to be held hostage by the militant group.

An Army statement said, “Around 16:00 today, the Army Intelligence was handed over the body of one of the missing soldiers which will be transported to the central military hospital where DNA tests will be conducted for identification.”

The body of Sergeant Al al-Sayyed was handed to the Lebanese Red Cross at the entrance of Arsal on Monday, days after militants said they slaughtered him.

Sources say his body was delivered by the Islamic Medical Association (IMA), a local health organization that has medical centers in Arsal, Tripoli, and Akkar.

They said an IMA vehicle first brought the body from the outskirts of Arsal to the entrance of the town where he was transferred to a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance.

The committee member said the areas controlled by ISIS in the outskirts of Arsal were closer and easier to access for the handover of the body than locations under the control of the Nusra Front.

Ghali confirmed that there were direct contacts with ISIS militants but did not disclose any information concerning the identity of the mediator.

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Five Lebanese hostages reunited with families

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The five Lebanese hostages released by the Nusra Front were reunited with their families on Sunday morning, as concerns grew over lebanese-hostagesthe fate of the remaining soldiers and policemen being held by Syrian militants.

Soldiers Ibrahim Shaaban, Ahmad Ghieh, and Wael Darwish met with their families in Arsal, according to the National News Agency.

All three soldiers were reportedly turned over to Sheikh Mustaphan al-Hujeiri by the Nusra Front Saturday evening. ISF member Saleh al-Baradei and soldier Mohammad al-Qaderi were also released by Nusra Front.

The five appeared on LBC TV Sunday morning, thanking Hujeiri for his efforts to secure their release and expressing gratitude over their safe arrival to Arsal. One of the freed hostages said that they were treated well by their captors and never assaulted or abused.

Hujeiri said Shiite hostages captured by Nusra were in “a more difficult position” than the rest of the hostages, hinting that the militant group had set high conditions for their release.

Earlier Sunday, the Nusra Front warned Hezbollah over the lives of the Shiite hostages.

With the release of the five, all Sunnis, Nusra Front and ISIS are still holding at least 24 soldiers and policemen taken captive during battles with the Lebanese Army at the beginning of August in Arsal.

The Lebanese army soldiers and security service members taken captive by the Nusra Front appeared in a video last week released by the group. The captives, who were kidnapped in the Lebanese town of Arsal near the Syrian border in early August, seem to be in good health.

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 News

US delivers weapons to Lebanese Army

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The United States government delivered a shipment of weapons and military equipment to the Lebanese Armed Forces on Friday, oneweapons-to-lebanon 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.

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 News

Two Lebanese policemen freed by militants

(ARSAL, LEBANON) — Islamist militants who captured more than 30 members of Lebanese security forces handed over two policemen to Lebanese officials on Sunday, according to security sources.

Sunni clerics from the Committee of Muslim Scholars mediated a truce between militants and the Lebanese Army and handed the policemen to the Internal Security Forces, according to the source.

The released policemen, Medyan Hasan and Kamal Misilmani, were transferred to the Baalbek region before being transported to the Ablah army barracks near Zahle, according to an Army statement.

Meanwhile, The Lebanese Army arrested 12 Syrians who were allegedly trying to enter Arsal illegally through an eastern border crossing on the village’s outskirts.

A five-day battle with the army which started on August 2 was one of the worst spillovers of Syria’s civil war into Lebanon. Security sources say dozens of militants, many of them rebels from Syria, and 19 soldiers were killed.

The fighting ended when the insurgents accepted mediation by Lebanese Sunni clerics, after which they withdrew, taking captured police and soldiers with them. 19 soldiers and 14 police are still held by the militants.

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United States to deliver aid to Lebanese army

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The United States will deliver aid to the Lebanese Army, said Ambassador David Hale on Thursday.

ambassador-david-hale“The United States has always stood in support of Lebanon’s security and stability. We agree with Lebanon’s leaders that the state, through the LAF, must be capable of safeguarding Lebanon from the potential acts of terror and violence these groups bring,” Hale said.

Hale said the coming deliveries would include weapons and ammunition.

“U.S. military assistance will begin arriving in the next few weeks and will continue in the months to follow. This assistance will enhance the Lebanese Army’s ability to secure Lebanon’s borders, protect Lebanon’s people and fight extremist groups.”

Hale said the U.S. had donated $1 billion to the Lebanese Army since 2006.

“We continue to stand with Lebanon and the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces as they protect Lebanon from the spillover of violence from Syria,” he said.

Hale’s pledge comes two days after United Kingdom Ambassador Tom Fletcher met with Salam and Army General Jean Kahwaji to make a similar commitment.

Lebanon has faced the worst spillover from the Syrian civil war yet, which killed at least 19 soldiers, 60 militants, and more than 15 civilians.

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Kahwaji says freeing hostages is a top priority

jean-kahwaji-army(ARSAL, LEBANON) — Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji assured Lebanese families that the military command in Arsal will spare no effort to secure the quick release of missing soldiers believed to be held by Syrian militants.

“The issue of the captured personnel is the Army’s top priority at this time. The command will not bargain over the blood of its martyrs and wounded or the freedom of its missing soldiers,” Kahwaji said. “The Army is ready for all possibilities in order to secure the safety of its missing personnel, and to bring them back to their families and their institution.”

Earlier Tuesday the Army command confirmed the death of a soldier who was killed in the fighting against jihadist militants in Arsal over a week ago. He was among 19 other military casualties.

In the meantime, Kahwaji said the Lebanese Army saved Lebanon from jihadist before they could declare their own state.

“The Army saved Lebanon from killer ‘sectarian strife-seekers’ by the Arsal battle,” Kahwagi told local newspaper As-Safir in remarks published Monday.

“Had the Army lost, (jihadists) would have entered Akkar, and from there they would have reached the sea and declared their own state.”

At least 60 militants were killed, in addition to 19 troops and over 15 civilians in five days of clashes triggered by the arrest of a Syrian militant, Imad Ahmad Jomaa, on August 2nd.

Over 20 security personnel, including 10 troops, are still missing, believed to be held hostage by the militants who retreated into rugged territory to the east of Arsal under an agreement brokered by the Muslim Scholars Committee.

Families of missing soldiers and security forces Tuesday protested against their kidnapping, while expressing full solidarity with the Army in its fight against terrorism.

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 Entertainment

Assi Helani reschedules TV interview due to “instability”

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese singer Assi Helani postponed an interview with Lebanese TV host Paula Ya’qoubian of Future TV due to “instability” in Lebanon, according to Helani’s media office.

Ya’qoubian, who hosts the show “With Paula”, was scheduled to air the interview on August 6.

Helani cancelled the interview due to unstable security conditions and the unfortunate conditions faced by the Lebanese army, referring to the ongoing clashes in Arsal.

The media release said Helani would reschedule the interview at a later time.

On August 4, Helani launched a new song titled “Leil El Watan” on his YouTube channel.

Watch below:

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