Salam says 2nd phase of disarmament to begin soon covering area between Litani, Awali

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that the first phase of the weapons monopolization plan related to the area south of the Litani River is "only days away from completion."

“The state is ready to move on to the second ‌phase, namely (confiscating weapons) north of the ‍Litani River, based on the ‍plan prepared by the Lebanese Army,” Salam added in remarks to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

Salam said the second phase will cover the areas between the Litani and Awali rivers in south Lebanon.

The third phase will cover Beirut and Mount Lebanon and the fourth covers the Bekaa followed by remaining regions.

Salam refused to go into the details of the government’s next step after it receives the army’s detailed report on the disarmament south of the Litani.

“The military has succeeded in imposing complete state authority over the regions from south of the Litani to the southern border, except for the areas occupied by Israel and from where it should withdraw without delay,” the PM told Asharq al-Awsat.

He confirmed that the government will convene at the beginning of the year to assess the first phase of the disarmament, stressing that Israel must take reciprocal steps, such as ceasing its violations of the ceasefire.

This will not prevent Lebanon from moving on to the second phase of implementing state monopoly over arms, he revealed.

Progress hinges on Hezbollah’s cooperation with Lebanon’s efforts to limit possession of weapons to the state and move towards activating state institutions in the South, he added.

“Imposing state monopoly over weapons is a Lebanese need before it is an international one,” he declared.

Everyone should be concerned with facilitating the process to end the cycle of violence, he urged.

Salam met on Saturday with Simon Karam, Lebanon's top civilian negotiator on the Mechanism committee overseeing the Hezbollah-Israel truce.

Karam briefed Salam on the latest meeting of the Mechanism.

Hezbollah continues to resist calls to disarm, saying the ceasefire with Israel does not cover areas north of the Litani. Party officials continue to tie disarmament to Israel’s withdrawal from regions it occupies in the South.