عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Lebanon, Britain to Hold Joint Military Exercise Starting Tuesday

A Lebanese flag flies as buildings lie in ruins in Mansouri, as seen from Henniye, Lebanon, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
A Lebanese flag flies as buildings lie in ruins in Mansouri, as seen from Henniye, Lebanon, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Lebanon, Britain to Hold Joint Military Exercise Starting Tuesday

A Lebanese flag flies as buildings lie in ruins in Mansouri, as seen from Henniye, Lebanon, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
A Lebanese flag flies as buildings lie in ruins in Mansouri, as seen from Henniye, Lebanon, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon's army will hold exercises with the British military this month, both sides said on Monday, with the drills also to involve personnel and representatives from countries including the United States and France.

Britain has been a key supporter of the cash-strapped Lebanese army and has provided millions of dollars in assistance over the years, including helping train Lebanese soldiers to secure the country's land borders.

The Lebanese army said that the joint "Pegasus Cedar 2026" exercise would begin on Tuesday and aimed to "bolster the capabilities of military units and raise the level of coordination between the Lebanese army and friendly armies".

It said the exercise would include "training on reconnaissance, raids and combat in built-up areas", among other activities.

A British embassy statement said British soldiers based in Cyprus would "join their Lebanese counterparts in the Air Assault Regiment in a landmark military exercise aimed at strengthening bilateral defense ties and enhancing operational readiness".

"Personnel from the armies of the United States and Italy will also take part, with representatives from the armies of France, Cyprus, Qatar, and Jordan joining as observers," it added.

The exercise, to be held over three weeks, builds on a previous UK-Lebanon military training exercise held in September 2023, the embassy statement added.

Lebanese authorities have called for increased support for the country's under-resourced army, which counts some 80,000 personnel and depends heavily on foreign aid.

The military faces enormous challenges in completing its deployment to south Lebanon under a framework agreement reached in June between Israel and Lebanon that involves the disarmament of the Hezbollah group and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion.

While violence has dropped since June, Israel still carries out attacks and demolitions, and its troops are occupying a self-declared "security zone" running around 10 kilometers (six miles) inside Lebanon along the border.

The fighting followed another conflict that erupted in 2023 that led to an all-out war the following year.

Last month in Paris, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II, and discussed international support for the country's military.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Chief Calls for Gaza Ceasefire Ahead of Oct 7 Anniversary

A photograph shows destruction at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with an Israeli flag fluttering in the background, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows destruction at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with an Israeli flag fluttering in the background, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Chief Calls for Gaza Ceasefire Ahead of Oct 7 Anniversary

A photograph shows destruction at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with an Israeli flag fluttering in the background, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows destruction at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with an Israeli flag fluttering in the background, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

"It is time for the ceasefire to become permanent. It is time to allow humanitarian assistance at scale. And it is time to respect international law," Guterres said in a statement, calling for a "political path to lasting peace across the whole region."

"Let this anniversary mark not only another year of mourning, but also a renewed determination to build a different future: one in which Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace and security, with their rights, dignity, and aspirations fulfilled," Guterres said.

The UN chief acknowledged Israel's casualties in the statement, calling the Hamas attack "abhorrent" for "killing more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals" and the hostage-taking of another 251 people.

Guterres also said Palestinians in Gaza have faced a "massive loss of life, displacement and destruction," without specifying their death toll.

"Their suffering, too, demands an end, now," Guterres said.

Israel's years-long military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 74,200 people according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which is under Hamas' authority and whose figures are deemed reliable by the UN.

Guterres acknowledged that a brief ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump in October 2025, "brought some relief. But it has yet to deliver security, adequate humanitarian assistance or a credible path to recovery and peace."

Israel, which still controls most of Gaza, refuses to withdraw its soldiers until Hamas' disarmament has been verified.

Hamas, for its part, has advocated for gradual disarmament rather than immediate and unilateral surrender of its arsenal.

Since the 2023 attacks, Israel has waged military attacks on several fronts, notably invading southern Lebanon to confront Hezbollah, the movement backed by Tehran, and launching war against Iran in late February alongside the United States.

Arab World

ISIS Attack Kills Iraqi Policeman Near Kirkuk

Iraqi police patrol vehicles are stationed outside the Karkh Court house during the trial of six French citizens accused of terrorism in Baghdad, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi police patrol vehicles are stationed outside the Karkh Court house during the trial of six French citizens accused of terrorism in Baghdad, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

ISIS Attack Kills Iraqi Policeman Near Kirkuk

Iraqi police patrol vehicles are stationed outside the Karkh Court house during the trial of six French citizens accused of terrorism in Baghdad, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi police patrol vehicles are stationed outside the Karkh Court house during the trial of six French citizens accused of terrorism in Baghdad, on October 5, 2026. (AFP)

At least ‌one Iraqi federal policeman was killed and four others wounded on Monday when ISIS militants attacked a federal police site southwest of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, two security sources told Reuters.

The attackers used semi-automatic machine guns and sniper fire against the federal police regiment stationed near Hawija, about 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, the sources said.

There ‌was no ‌immediate claim of responsibility. But ‌security and ⁠army sources said ⁠ ISIS militants, who are still active in the area, were involved in the attack.

The attack is the first reported assault by ISIS on Iraqi security forces since US forces completed their withdrawal ⁠from Iraq on September 30, ending ‌the military mission in ‌the country.

The United States had led a ‌coalition that supported Iraqi forces in the fight ‌against ISIS, including efforts to prevent the militant group from regrouping.

Washington said it would continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support after ‌the withdrawal, while Iraqi forces would take full responsibility for the country’s security ⁠and ⁠for suppressing ISIS remnants.

Despite the defeat of ISIS nearly a decade ago, the group retains sleeper cells in Iraq, Iraqi security officials told Reuters ahead of the US withdrawal.

The withdrawal had raised concerns that a security vacuum could provide an opening for ISIS to regain strength, with some officials warning that Iraqi forces would now have to contain the group without the coalition’s military presence.

Arab World

UN Rights Council Condemns Drone Strikes Plaguing Sudan

A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Rights Council Condemns Drone Strikes Plaguing Sudan

A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (AFP)

The UN Human Rights Council on Monday condemned indiscriminate drone strikes and attacks on civilians in Sudan, and slammed outside forces fueling the conflict with weapons and mercenaries.

The United Nations' top rights body decided to extend the mandate of the council's independent international fact-finding mission for Sudan for a further year.

The investigation, which gathers evidence of abuses and atrocities, concluded in February that the siege and capture of the city of El-Fasher bore "the hallmarks of genocide".

The draft resolution was adopted by 28 votes to 10, with nine abstentions in the 47-country council.

Sudan said the resolution did not take its reservations into account and had called on all states to vote against it.

The war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed more than 200,000 people, aid workers estimate, displaced more than 13 million and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

The rights council resolution said there was "no military solution to the crisis" in Sudan.

It called for "an immediate and complete ceasefire by all parties, without preconditions, the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism of the ceasefire, the rehabilitation of critical basic infrastructure, (and) a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the conflict".

The resolution condemned violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights by all sides.

It slammed "indiscriminate attacks against civilians, indiscriminate aerial bombardments and drone strikes, resulting in civilian deaths and the destruction of critical infrastructure", including schools and hospitals.

In recent months, both the army and the RSF have increasingly deployed drones, killing more than 1,100 during the first five months of this year alone, according to United Nations figures.

- African opinion shifting -

Those voting for the resolution included Brazil, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico and South Korea.

Those against included China, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan and Qatar.

Britain, which brought forward the resolution, hailed the change in African opinion on the council.

This time, four of its 13 members backed the resolution renewing the investigation -- The Gambia, Malawi and Mauritius joining South Africa -- with seven abstentions and two voting no.

Last year, only South Africa voted yes, with eight abstentions and four nos.

"This is a hugely significant shift," Britain's ambassador Eleanor Sanders told AFP.

"Tragically, it speaks to the scale and gravity of what is happening in Sudan.

"The mandate, and this African support, increases the pressure and therefore increases the cost on the warring parties for what they're doing," she added.

"We hope that it might mitigate the scale and barbarity of some of the atrocities. It might also, in doing that, make the sides a bit more willing to take steps towards an end to this devastating conflict."

The Gambia's representative Cherno Marenah told the council his country's Yes vote was "guided by our overriding consideration for the millions of victims of the war in Sudan, who continue to bear the devastating consequences of this conflict".