Aoun Underlines Keenness to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)
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Aoun Underlines Keenness to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said the accomplishment of an electoral law based on proportional representation “for the first time in the history of Lebanon, and after strenuous efforts, will ensure further political stability since it will allow a greater fairness of representation.”
 
This came on Tuesday during a speech he delivered before heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps and heads of the international missions accredited to Lebanon.
 
 “I affirm my keenness on holding the parliamentary elections on time,” Aoun said, adding that the government, “which featured the major political parties, contributed to the consolidation of stability, although divergent voices rose at times, remaining though under the ceiling of political differences which enrich the democratic life.”
 
Aoun went on to say that the current government has succeeded in protecting Lebanon from surrounding conflicts.
 
“Undoubtedly, it is very difficult to maintain the security stability in an inflamed region and in a country like Lebanon which is agitated by its surrounding and interacts with it to a great extent. Nevertheless, we managed to achieve it and to prevent the spark of sedition to reach the inside of Lebanon, thanks to the joint wills and to the total coordination between all the organs after the new appointments at the level of leaderships,” he stated.
 
Aoun reiterated his call on the international community to shoulder its responsibility towards the safe return of the displaced to their country.
 
“The strategy that adopted creative chaos to prompt change has not only proven its great failure but also its catastrophic outcome,” the president said, underlining the need for a new approach that tackles the problems of people who were forced to leave their countries due to war.
 
 “There is currently a need for a new international strategy that relies on dialogue first, and on a new approach which respects the rights of the peoples and States… thus putting an end to destruction and bloodshed, and embarking on tackling the repercussions, on top of which the problem of the millions of people who were forced to leave their nations and lands and set off to the unknown,” he stated.



US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
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US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)

US forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on US personnel, US Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, US forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in Eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted US personnel with a drone attack and indirect fires at another base, Green Village, where US troops are operating — which prompted the US to strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

There are about 900 US troops deployed in Syria. No US troops were injured in either attack.