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Iraq Deploys Armored Vehicles to Border with Syria

A destroyed Syrian army helicopter sits on the tarmac the Nayrab military airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
A destroyed Syrian army helicopter sits on the tarmac the Nayrab military airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Iraq Deploys Armored Vehicles to Border with Syria

A destroyed Syrian army helicopter sits on the tarmac the Nayrab military airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
A destroyed Syrian army helicopter sits on the tarmac the Nayrab military airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Iraq sent armored vehicles on Monday to reinforce its long border with Syria, in a bid to ease concerns after a surprise offensive in the neighboring country by opposition groups.  

The lightning offensive by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions saw government forces lose full control of Syria's second city Aleppo for the first time since the civil war began in 2011.  

The attacks have caused unease in Iraq, which still bears the scars of decades of conflict, including the rise of the ISIS group.

"Any infiltration on the Syrian-Iraqi border is absolutely impossible, because of the fortifications and the combat units located there," interior ministry spokesman General Moqdad Miri said on Monday.

The defense ministry said "armoured units of the Iraqi army" were sent to reinforce the border, from the western border town of Al-Qaim to the border with Jordan further south.  

Similar forces were deployed along the border further north in Nineveh province, it said.  

The move comes after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 200 fighters from a pro-Iran Iraqi armed group being sent into Syria to support government forces.  

The Britain-based war monitor, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria, said the militants entered the al-Boukamal region through the border at Al-Qaim in two waves.  

When contacted by AFP, officials from Iraqi armed factions Kataib Hezbollah, Al-Nujaba and Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada denied sending reinforcements.  

"It is still too early to take this type of decision," a Kataib Hezbollah commander told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.  

ISIS overran large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate".  

The group was defeated in Iraq in 2017 by local forces backed by a US-led international military coalition.  

"Iraq has taken solid precautions after the bitter experience of 2014," Qais al-Mohamadawi, Iraq's deputy commander of joint operations, said on Friday.

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Arab World

Aoun Wants Formation of ‘Consensual’ Lebanese Govt Representing All Components

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
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Aoun Wants Formation of ‘Consensual’ Lebanese Govt Representing All Components

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is advocating the formation of a government of “consensus” that includes representatives from all political factions.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam has requested that parliamentary blocs submit non-partisan nominees for ministerial positions, emphasizing that they must not belong to any political party.

Aoun stressed on Tuesday that all components of society have the right to be represented in the government, parliament and public administration, as this is already practiced in the army.

“We have significant opportunities that we hope to seize by uniting all elements of Lebanese society—civil, spiritual, and political. Together, we can rebuild our nation,” he declared.

Highlighting the importance of meeting international expectations, Aoun hoped for the rapid formation of a government to achieve political, economic, and security stability, which would allow citizens “to live with dignity, not merely in relative comfort.”

During meetings with professional delegations at the Presidential Palace, Aoun said: “We are at a crossroads. Either we take advantage of the current circumstances and rise above sectarian, religious, and political divisions, or we head in a different direction and bear full responsibility for failing to fulfill our duties.”

Negotiations between Aoun, Salam, and political factions over the formation of a government are ongoing. The discussions, which kicked off last week, have reportedly made progress, with efforts directed toward expediting the government formation process, issuing decrees, preparing a ministerial statement, and securing its vote of confidence from lawmakers.

While the Shiite duo of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement appear to have finalized their proposed nominees for the government, disagreements over the ministerial statement remain.

MP Waddah Sadek, who is backed by the opposition, firmly rejected the inclusion of the “Army, People, Resistance” term in the statement. He declared: “No ‘blocking third’ in the government, and no unconstitutional gimmicks. The slogan of the new phase in Lebanon should be: the ‘Army, People, and State.’”

The Kataeb Party echoed this stance, stressing that Lebanon, emerging from a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel, must align with the Aoun’s inaugural speech and Salam’s remarks by ensuring the ministerial statement exclusively underscores the state’s monopoly over arms and the defense of the nation.

“The government must act decisively, dismantle militias, strictly enforce the ceasefire, and uphold its provisions across all Lebanese territory,” it demanded.

The Kataeb Party also urged Aoun and Salam to resist the “great extortion” by Hezbollah and Amal to secure specific ministries or positions, in violation of the inaugural speech, calling instead for the application of uniform standards to ensure the government’s success.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah adopted a more confrontational tone.

MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, commented: “To those betting on Hezbollah’s weakness or the weakness of the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, what will you say when the government is formed? What will you say when you realize the strength of Hezbollah, the alliance, and the resistance’s supporters across all segments of Lebanese society? What will you say when you see the unwavering determination and unity of the resistance at every critical juncture?”