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Lebanon: Bassil Eliminates Bou Saab from FPM after Differences over Presidency

Gebran Bassil, a lawmaker and former minister stands as Lebanon's parliament convenes in a bid to elect a head of state to fill the vacant presidency, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Gebran Bassil, a lawmaker and former minister stands as Lebanon's parliament convenes in a bid to elect a head of state to fill the vacant presidency, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon: Bassil Eliminates Bou Saab from FPM after Differences over Presidency

Gebran Bassil, a lawmaker and former minister stands as Lebanon's parliament convenes in a bid to elect a head of state to fill the vacant presidency, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Gebran Bassil, a lawmaker and former minister stands as Lebanon's parliament convenes in a bid to elect a head of state to fill the vacant presidency, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Disputes between leader of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil and Deputy Speaker and FPM official Elias Bou Saab have ended with a rift two years after murky ties between the two.
Bou Saab is not the first to be eliminated from the party. Bassil eliminated several prominent officials from the party in recent years.
Bou Saab was a prominent figure of the FPM and adviser to former President and founder of the FPM, Michel Aoun.
“Bou Saab is no longer among the ranks of the party”, prominent sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. “He has not taken part in the meetings of the (FPM’s) parliamentary bloc in months”.
Two Years of Differences
The first sign of the differences between Bassil and Bou Saab began during the 2022 parliamentary elections. Bassil was blamed for supporting an FPM candidate on the party’s electoral lists in the Metn area other than Bou Saab.
Divisions got deeper after the elections when the candidates for the post of deputy speaker were named.
FPM deputies and lawmakers of the Amal and Hezbollah parties had all voted in favor of Bou Saab who enjoyed the backing of Speaker Nabih Berri, the leader of Amal party.
This “silent dispute” did not shatter the relations between the two men, nor did it affect Bou Saab’s relation with Aoun. Bou Saab, a deputy speaker and parliamentarian, had continuous contacts with Berri, and played a “mediating” role between the FPM and Aoun on one hand, and Berri on the other before the presidential vacuum.
Bou Saab also had a negotiator role with US official Amos Hochstein who mediated the demarcation of Lebanon’s maritime border with Israel in 2022.
Different Relations with the Political Components
Tense relations peaked between the two during the presidential elections. FPM lawmakers were casting blank ballot votes while Bou Saab voted in favor of former minister Ziad Baroud.
In the final presidential election session, Bou Saab was accused of not abiding by an agreement struck between the Lebanese Forces party, the Progressive Socialist Party and the FPM to support former minister Jihad Azour.
In a televised interview two months before, Bou Saab said that Marada leader Sleiman Franjieh had the highest stakes to win the elections. He said that he would vote for him if his triumph stands at one vote.
According to sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the differences between the two grew to their highest that Bassil could no longer tolerate, which drove him to eliminate Bou Saab.
Sources informed about the atmosphere with the FPM said the move is unlikely to affect the political future of Bou Saab.
They said his presence as a lawmaker is not linked to the FPM. He was a deputy before the FPM and will continue to be one despite any developments.

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Arab World

Iraq PM Rejects Proposal to Maintain Coalition Troops Beyond Sept. 30 Deadline

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (INA)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (INA)
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Iraq PM Rejects Proposal to Maintain Coalition Troops Beyond Sept. 30 Deadline

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (INA)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (INA)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has rejected a proposal to keep some international anti-ISIS coalition forces in Iraq beyond the September 30 deadline for their withdrawal, announced government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi.

He also stressed that Baghdad was closely monitoring regional developments but would not become part of the conflict.

Speaking at a news conference Monday, al-Aboudi confirmed that the withdrawal of coalition forces and the handover of their positions to Iraqi forces were proceeding as planned.

“The government is looking ahead to September 30, which represents an important milestone for the sovereignty of the Iraqi state and people,” he told Iraq's state news agency INA, adding that the date would mark “the complete end of the international coalition mission’s presence on Iraqi territory.”

On efforts to bring all weapons under state control, al-Aboudi stressed that the government was moving ahead with measures to regulate arms and unify decision-making, describing the issue as a top priority and a cornerstone of national sovereignty.

He noted that the Iraqi Constitution grants the armed forces exclusive authority over arms and prohibits the formation of armed groups outside the official security establishment.

Talks with armed factions were progressing positively and within the designated timetable, he added, indicating that the issue would be resolved before September 30.

Government decisions were based on national interests, he said.

Al-Aboudi announced that al-Zaidi would visit Paris and Berlin in the first half of September at the invitation of European officials, with security among the issues on the agenda.

Turning to the economy, the spokesman outlined the government’s strategy to diversify revenue sources and secure essential requirements. Iraqi exports were proceeding normally at more than 2 million barrels per day, he added.

The cabinet is expected to vote on the 2027 budget in September.

The government is continuing its campaign against corruption, pursuing suspects and seeking to cut off its sources, al-Aboudi underlined. He pointed to the value of recovered funds as evidence of unprecedented progress.

Arab World

10 Syria Security Personnel Wounded in Clashes in Sweida

A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (AFP)
A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (AFP)
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10 Syria Security Personnel Wounded in Clashes in Sweida

A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (AFP)
A Syrian army officer puts on his blast suit during a demining operation, by the Syrian Ministry of Defense's military engineering department, to clear land mines in Qarah in the Damascus countryside on August 23, 2026. (AFP)

Clashes with local armed groups in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida left 10 government security personnel wounded, state media reported Tuesday.

The unrest, which took place on Monday, came after two civilians were killed in similar clashes west of Sweida city, according to two local security sources.

Syrian state television, citing the Internal Security Command in Sweida province, said the number of wounded personnel had risen to 10 after "outlaw groups" targeted points in the Tal Hadid area and the Walgha axis.

State media had previously reported that four were wounded "while confronting attacks by outlaw groups in the western countryside of Sweida".

Sweida city and other parts of the southern province are under the control of local armed groups and constitute the last areas outside the power of Syria's new authorities, who are seeking to extend their rule across the entire country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Among those groups is the so-called National Guard, which is affiliated with Druze Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri.

In a statement on Monday night, the group accused government forces of "firing a number of mortar shells and indiscriminately firing 23mm machine guns... with the aim of harming civilians", adding that a child was wounded as a result.

The group said it was "responding to the sources of fire with appropriate means".

Government forces and Druze armed groups had been exchanging fire since Saturday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday.

A Druze security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that a shell launched Sunday from a government-controlled area "targeted the outskirts of the city of Sweida, striking a tractor and killing two people on board, the driver and a woman who was with him".

Tensions have been high in Sweida since clashes between Druze and government-aligned forces last year led to some of the worst communal violence since the fall of Assad.

Arab World

Lebanon Urges Greece to Help Implement Truce with Israel

Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas (R) talks next to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (L) during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, 31 August 2026. (EPA)
Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas (R) talks next to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (L) during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, 31 August 2026. (EPA)
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Lebanon Urges Greece to Help Implement Truce with Israel

Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas (R) talks next to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (L) during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, 31 August 2026. (EPA)
Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas (R) talks next to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (L) during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, 31 August 2026. (EPA)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked Greece on Monday for support to help implement a ceasefire agreement with Israel and end Israeli attacks on his country, hours after Greece and Israel announced a multibillion arms deal.

The June 26 accord, brokered by the United States, says both sides must cease hostilities and allow the Lebanese army to restore control over the entire country.

Beirut wants Israel to withdraw from all territory it has occupied in southern Lebanon. Israel first wants Lebanese group Hezbollah evacuated from the sector.

"Lebanon and the Lebanese people are tired of wars, and from the start of the negotiations with Israel the aim was to put an end to the state of hostility," Aoun told a press conference in Athens alongside Greek President Konstantinos Tassoulas.

"The framework agreement ... cannot be implemented unilaterally. It needs to be implemented on both sides," he insisted.

"We request Greece's assistance as much as possible to help Lebanon."

Lebanon was dragged into the US-Israeli war against Iran in March, when Israel launched a massive bombardment of its neighbor and invaded, while Hezbollah fired missiles at Israeli territory.

Since then, Aoun said, Israeli strikes have killed 4,300 Lebanese, wounded 12,000 and destroyed 60-70 villages.

"Solving the problem by military force will not succeed," he said, insisting on the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from his country.

After a later meeting, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece supported "the sovereignty, independence and unity of Lebanon" and would support "all efforts aimed at de-escalation and mutual comprehension".

On Monday, Greece and Israel announced Athens was buying a $3.5-billion aerial defense system from Israel.