Lebanon's Rai Calls For Raids on Illegal Weapons Depots

Patriarch Rai during Sunday Mass service in Diman (NNA)
Patriarch Rai during Sunday Mass service in Diman (NNA)
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Lebanon's Rai Calls For Raids on Illegal Weapons Depots

Patriarch Rai during Sunday Mass service in Diman (NNA)
Patriarch Rai during Sunday Mass service in Diman (NNA)

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai escalated Sunday the intensity of his statements against Hezbollah’s arms, without directly naming the party as he called for “carrying out raids on all weapons and explosives caches and warehouses spread illegally between residential neighborhoods in cities, towns, and villages.”

The Patriarch pointed out that citizens' lives do not belong to any person, faction, party, or organization.

His statements, during Sunday Mass service at the patriarchal summer retreat of Diman, came amid growing distancing between Bkirki and the Shiite party, in the absence of any public contacts between the two sides, at least since Rai called for Lebanon’s neutrality last month.

Hezbollah is considered one of the main parties to possess large military capacities used in its conflict with Israel.

However, those arms remained a contentious issue.

Since 2006, core political actors held several dialogue tables to reach a consensus on a National Defense Strategy to face Israeli aggressions. However, no results were reached in this regard as talks over the party’s full monopoly on the possession of arms led to political tension between Hezbollah and some Lebanese political parties, which call for restricting weapons in the hands of the Lebanese Army.

For the first time since he was appointed Patriarch in 2011, Rai tackled on Sunday the file of raiding arms depots.

“Some Lebanese areas have been transformed into fields of explosives [and] we do not know when they will explode or who will detonate them,” Rai said.

Amid Hezbollah’s silence about Rai’s calls, Maronite sources close to the matter denied that Bkirki plans to break its relations with the Party.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Rai does not break relations with anyone. The Patriarch is interested in reaching all Lebanese constituencies within the constants of respect for sovereignty and independence.”

Although the sources did not deny the presence of disagreements on the weapons of Hezbollah, they said: “We reached a delicate phase that affects the fate of Lebanon.”

The same sources explained that the arms file is a contentious issue that overpasses the Lebanese makeup.

“In light of regional developments and the change of international balances, the Patriarch cares to remove all pretensions around the arms file and to safeguard neutrality,” the sources said.



Pedersen Says ‘Extremely Critical’ to Avoid Syria Being Dragged into War in Region

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
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Pedersen Says ‘Extremely Critical’ to Avoid Syria Being Dragged into War in Region

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)

The UN special envoy for Syria said on Sunday that it was “extremely critical” to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid the country being pulled into a regional war.

“We need now to make sure that we have immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, that we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, and that we avoid Syria being dragged even further into the conflict,” said Geir Pedersen ahead of a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has not released any details about the Pedersen-Sabbagh meeting. It only issued a brief statement in which it announced the meeting.

Local sources said Pedersen's second visit to Damascus this year is aimed at exploring the possibility of resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis.

The meetings have been stalled since the eighth round on February 22, 2022, due to a dispute over the venue of the reconvening of the Constitutional Committee. Russia, which is not satisfied with Switzerland's joining Western sanctions against Moscow because of the Ukraine war, refuses to hold it in Geneva.

“Pedersen is holding talks with Syrian officials in Damascus, where he arrived last Wednesday, about the possibility of resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings,” reported Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper.

Earlier this month, Russian presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told TASS: “As you know, only one venue - Geneva - is still unacceptable for the Russian side. As for all others, we are ready to work there.”

He added: “Probably, there is an open option with Baghdad, which, regrettably, was rejected by the Syrian opposition. It refused from this venue because Baghdad is supporting Damascus. They don’t think that Iraq is a neutral venue.”

The Russian diplomat stressed that the committee’s work should be resumed as soon as possible, but, in his words, it takes a lot of effort to find a venue that would be acceptable for both Damascus and the Syrian opposition.

Israel has been conducting airstrikes in Syria against government forces, Iranian troops and Hezbollah targets since the eruption of the crisis there in 2011. Strikes have increased following the Israeli war on Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll of the Israeli airstrikes on Palmyra city on November 20 continues to increase with many people suffering from severe injuries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of three Syrians and two non-Syrian members of Iranian-backed militias, bringing the number of fatalities to 105.