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US, Moroccan Militaries Conclude Joint Training Programs on Disaster Response

Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa
Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa
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US, Moroccan Militaries Conclude Joint Training Programs on Disaster Response

Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa
Throughout the week, US Marines continued training with the Royal Moroccan Armed forces soldiers in non-electric Initiation procedures, render safe procedures, and Mk 2 Mod 1 assembly and utilization techniques. Photo: US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa

Moroccan and US military personnel have concluded a major disaster planning exercise and a four-week training program on handling explosive hazards, the US embassy announced on Thursday.

Members of the Utah National Guard are in Kasr Sghir this week participating in Exercise Maroc Mantlet, the premier disaster planning and preparedness exercise in the Kingdom, alongside partners from the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and Moroccan civilian agencies, it said.

This year’s exercise, for which the FAR led planning, featured a scenario based on a large-scale industrial catastrophe that requires search and rescue both on land and at sea, industrial fire-fighting in a HAZMAT environment, and crisis management at the national level.

“These joint training programs are a critical component of the close, strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States,” said US Army Major General Michael J. Turley, adjutant general of the Utah National Guard, who visited Morocco this week to observe the conclusion of these exercises.

“We are always working closely with our Moroccan partners to confront a range of possible threats, including natural disasters or industrial accidents, as well as conventional security concerns.”

Maroc Mantlet includes international observers from Djibouti, France, Jordan, Mauritania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Tunisia.

Morocco participates in more than 100 military engagements with US forces yearly. It hosts African Lion – the largest yearly military exercise on the continent – and is a major partner in both the US International Military Education and Training and Foreign Military Sales programs, the embassy said.

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2 Killed in Southern Lebanon as Protests against Israeli Presence Erupt for a Second Day

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP
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2 Killed in Southern Lebanon as Protests against Israeli Presence Erupt for a Second Day

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP

Firing by Israeli troops killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli troops remain.

The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border.

Under a US-brokered ceasefire on Nov. 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah was to move north of the Litani River by Jan. 26. While the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers had already deployed in several villages before the deadline, Israel remained in over a dozen villages.

The United States and Lebanon announced later on Sunday that the deadline to meet the ceasefire terms had been extended to Feb. 18.

Protests resumed Monday particularly in eastern border villages, where residents again attempted to return home. Israeli troops opened fire, killing one person in the town of Adaisseh and wounding seven others across four southern villages, the Health Ministry reported.

The Israeli military has blamed Hezbollah for pushing people to protest and has said soldiers fired warning shots when demonstrators approached.

In the village of Aitaroun, scores of unarmed residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or rode motorcycles, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped short of Israeli positions, unable to enter.

“We are coming with our heads held high and crowned with victory to our village, Aitaroun,” said Saleem Mrad, head of the municipality. “Our village is ours, and we will bring it back more beautiful than it was before. We are staying.”

Hassan al-Ahmad, a Aitaroun resident, said, “We have to give our blood and our souls. If there had not been blood spilled, the land would not have been liberated.”

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance of the southern village of Yaroun to deter residents from proceeding farther.

In the town of Bint Jbeil, Hezbollah members handed out flyers featuring slain leader Hassan Nasrallah with the words, “Victory has arrived.” Some residents waved Hezbollah flags.

Israel blamed the Lebanese army for not deploying to the region fast enough, while the Lebanese military accused Israel of stalling its withdrawal, complicating its deployment efforts.

Some family members who entered border villages Sunday discovered the bodies of their relatives. Israeli strikes have killed over 4,000 people during the war, but Lebanese authorities do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their death toll.

Since the ceasefire began, Israel has conducted near-daily operations such as house demolitions, shelling and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of violating ceasefire terms by attempting to move weapons. Lebanon in turn has accused Israel of hundreds of ceasefire violations.