The world powers decided, Thursday, June 17, during a video conference organized by France, to provide aid to the Lebanese army in order to prevent it from collapsing, but without making any concrete announcement. , as Lebanon continues to sink into an economic and political crisis.
Paris, at the head of diplomatic efforts to come to the aid of the former French protectorate, seeks to increase pressure on Lebanese leaders as efforts to condition foreign financial aid on the formation of a new government and the launch of reforms have still not succeeded.
Anger is growing among the Lebanese security forces, as the collapse of the national currency has removed most of the value of wages.
In the hope of remedying this, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, chaired a videoconference bringing together the member countries of the International Support Group in Lebanon (United States, Russia, China, France, Germany, Italy and countries Gulf). The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value against the US dollar since the end of 2019, a financial crisis that poses the biggest security threat to Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.
“The participants underlined the continued deterioration of the economic and social situation in Lebanon. In this context, they noted the strong solicitation of the FAL [Forces armées libanaises] which remain an essential pillar of the Lebanese State, said in a statement the French ministry of the armies. Their cohesion and professionalism remain essential to preserve the stability of the country. “
Bilateral aid and follow-up mechanism
Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun warned at the conference that the Lebanese would face dire consequences if the crisis persisted there and military salaries continued to plunge. “How can a soldier support his family on a salary that does not exceed 90 dollars? “, he said in a video posted by the military’s Twitter account. “If not mitigated, the economic and financial crisis will inevitably lead to the collapse of all state institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces, the backbone of the country”, he added.
The pay in the army has been divided, in value, by five or six, forcing many soldiers to change jobs or find a second job.
The aim of the conference was for participating countries to provide food, medicine and parts of military equipment, but without covering the salaries of soldiers. According to two diplomats, the majority of countries have shown their willingness to provide bilateral aid in the future, adding that a follow-up mechanism will be put in place.
