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Lebanese Army Arrests Two Top ISIS Commanders in Arsal

Lebanese army soldiers patrol a street in Labweh, at the entrance of the border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon July 21, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese army soldiers patrol a street in Labweh, at the entrance of the border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon July 21, 2017. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Army Arrests Two Top ISIS Commanders in Arsal

Lebanese army soldiers patrol a street in Labweh, at the entrance of the border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon July 21, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese army soldiers patrol a street in Labweh, at the entrance of the border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon July 21, 2017. (Reuters)

The Lebanese army announced on Tuesday the arrest of two top ISIS commanders in the town of Arsal on the eastern border, seizing a weapons cache that belonged to the organization, which had occupied Lebanese territories in the Ras Baalbak area, adjacent to Syria.

A statement by the Lebanese army said that the Intelligence Department arrested two key ISIS commanders, Ibrahim Ahmad Zaarour (Lebanese) and Ouday Hussein Khatib (Syrian), in Arsal.

The statement added that the two men had participated in the battles against the Lebanese army in Arsa, and planned terrorist attacks through booby-trapped vehicles and explosive devices.

The apprehended Syrian was involved in the explosion of al-Qalamoun Scholars' Committee headquarters in Arsal and an attack on an army patrol that was heading to inspect the blast.

In a separate statement, the army announced that it had seized in one of the caves in Wadi Rafek, on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, on the eastern border with Syria, “a depot left by terrorist groups, containing bombs, shells, machine guns, hand grenades and medium and light ammunition.”

The National News Agency said that the weapons were transferred to one of the military barracks in the area, while work on dismantling the bombs was underway since the departure of ISIS militants from the areas.

ISIS militants left the Lebanese territories last August as part of a deal with “Hezbollah” that led to the transportation of the extremists to Syria’s Deir al-Zour, following a similar deal between the group and Al-Nusra Front militants, who were deported to the Syrian province of Idlib.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.