US roadmap calls for Lebanese state control over weapons: Official

BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

A roadmap proposed by US envoy Tom Barrack calls for the disarmament of non-state groups and state control over all weapons, a Lebanese official told Anadolu on Wednesday.

Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye, visited Lebanon on June 19, where he met with senior Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, to discuss regional developments.

A statement by the Lebanese presidency at the time said that the discussions between Aoun and Barrack addressed the Lebanese steps “to implement the principle of arms exclusivity."

“Barrack presented a 5-page proposal to Beirut with three main headings,” said the Lebanese official, who preferred to remain unnamed.

“The first heading focuses on collecting all weapons and bringing them under state control,” he said.

The second heading in Barrack’s proposal was financial and economic reforms, border controls, preventing smuggling activities, and tightening procedures at border crossings, he said.

The last item in the proposal “calls for repairing the relationships with Syria at various levels of security and political aspects, border control and demarcation, and strengthening trade and economic relations,” the official said.

The Lebanese official stressed that Beirut is committed to bringing all weapons under state control.

“However, Lebanon demands an immediate cessation of Israeli attacks and the withdrawal of its forces, in addition to launching a reconstruction plan for southern Lebanon,” he added.

The US envoy is expected to visit Lebanon next week, the official said.

There is no immediate comment from the Lebanese group Hezbollah on the report.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Saturday that his group would not lay down its arms while Israel continued attacking southern Lebanon.

Israel launched a wide-scale assault on Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2023, that escalated into a full-scale war by Sept. 23, 2024. The conflict has killed more than 4,000 people, wounded over 17,000, and displaced nearly 1.4 million, according to official data.

Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah’s activities despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that was reached in November. The truce ended months of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group.

Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of at least 224 people and injuries to more than 500, since the agreement was signed.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply. Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.