Rome 2 Conference: Int’l Protection, Improving Lebanese Army’s Capabilities

A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
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Rome 2 Conference: Int’l Protection, Improving Lebanese Army’s Capabilities

A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)

The Lebanese government and the army leadership are preparing a well-studied agenda for the Rome 2 conference that is set to be held end of February to back the military and security institutions.

Observers said the conference aims at consolidating international protection for Lebanon’s security, and backing the capabilities of the Lebanese army and security forces as part of a US-led international plan for the country’s legitimate institutions to preserve the border are and stability.

The Lebanese cabinet discussed the conference’s arrangements during its session last Thursday.

Minister of State for Planning Affairs Michel Pharaon said the conference sets stage for the consolidation of international protection for Lebanon's security and stability, and for backing the Lebanese army.

Pharaon told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conference would add to the decisions taken in the Rome 1 conference that was held late 2014 and that led to a security plan, which resolved many security issues across Lebanon.

In the past years, Lebanon has been hit with car bombings in addition to the threat of extremist groups, including ISIS, that infiltrated the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014 and kidnapped Lebanese servicemen.

The terrorist threat subsided last year when the Lebanese army launched an operation to end the presence of extremist organizations on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria.

“The stability of the security situation consolidates political, economic and fiscal stability,” Pharaon said.

A military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army is hoping for positive results from the Rome 2 conference regarding assistance to the armed forces.

“Experts from the army will be among the Lebanese delegation participating in the conference,” said the source.

The army leadership has come up with a five-year plan to improve the military’s combat capabilities, and will propose it at the conference that will be attended by several NATO countries, the source added.



Syrian Security Forces Detain Cousin of Toppled Leader Assad

A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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Syrian Security Forces Detain Cousin of Toppled Leader Assad

A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A giant picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday.

Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon, Reuters said.

Bashar al-Assad was toppled by the opposition factions in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground.

Syria’s new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses.

Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.