Report: Military Says Number of Soldiers Fleeing Army over Crisis 'Exaggerated'

Military reports affirmed that the number of soldiers deserting the Lebanese army over a severe financial crisis is very “limited,” Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday.

There are a number of soldiers who reportedly applied for dismissal, some for travel purposes and others in search for another job, military reports told the daily.

The army at the present exceptional economic times in crisis-hit Lebanon, tolerates the fact that some soldiers are working in second jobs to have enough to live on, according to the report.

In addition, some brigades and units have begun to agriculturally invest the lands surrounding their centers to distribute their production to the military.

The Army leadership has begun placing special emphasis on healthcare to compensate for deteriorating value of military salaries. Some of those who had submitted requests for discharge from the army, reconsidered their move by submitting requests for mercy because they found it difficult to secure medical care outside the military institution, added the report.

Since 2019, Lebanon has been wrangling with an unprecedented economic and financial crisis that has eaten away at the value of soldiers’ salaries and slashed the military’s budget for maintenance and equipment.

Last week, twenty nations during an international support group meeting for Lebanon including France, the US, several EU member states, Gulf countries, Russia and China, agreed to provide emergency aid to the ailing military.