Russian Official Calls on Damascus to Expel Wagner Fighters

Wagner mercenaries seen in Belarus in July. (AFP)
Wagner mercenaries seen in Belarus in July. (AFP)
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Russian Official Calls on Damascus to Expel Wagner Fighters

Wagner mercenaries seen in Belarus in July. (AFP)
Wagner mercenaries seen in Belarus in July. (AFP)

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov paid a recent visit to Syria where he met with military officials to discuss several files, including the Russian Wagner mercenaries deployed in the war-torn country, revealed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Yevkurov advised Syrian officials of the need to inform Wagner militants to withdraw from Syria or join Russian troops deployed there, it added.

Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas met with Wagner leaderships in Syria and proposed that they lay down their arms and pull out of Syria within a month, or join the Russian troops there and work under their command.

The Observatory had revealed in June that the Russian forces had given the Wagner mercenaries the choice between leaving Syria or joining the Russian military, amid fears that the militants could mutiny against the Russian troops and Damascus regime.

Over 2,000 Wagner mercenaries are deployed in Syria. They mainly hail from countries of the former Soviet Union. They are mainly deployed at oil fields in the Syrian Badia, or desert, and in regions held by Turkish forces.

Over 3,000 Syrians are employed by Wagner inside and outside Syria, according to the Observatory.

Wagner has played a pivotal role in tipping the Syrian war in the regime’s favor. The mercenaries carried out military operations in Syria that were supervised by the Russian military.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state after a deadly plane crash believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the volatile chief of the mercenary group.

Putin signed the decree bringing in the change with immediate effect on Friday.



Lebanese President Says ‘Forbidden’ to Return to War Rhetoric

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says ‘Forbidden’ to Return to War Rhetoric

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday it was “forbidden to return to war rhetoric,” while reiterating that the decision to limit the possession of arms to the state “has been taken.”

The issue is being addressed calmly and responsibly in order to protect civil peace, he stressed while meeting a delegation from the French Senate at the Baabda Palace.

Aoun added that the Lebanese army was carrying out its duties in full south of the Litani River in line with the ceasefire agreement reached in November, according to a presidency statement.

It continues to clear villages and towns of ammunition and armed presence, he went on to say, remarking that the process will take some time because of the large area that will be covered.

The main obstacle preventing the army from reaching the southern border is Israel’s occupation of five hilltops, which Aoun said, have no military significance.

Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the area is complicating matters and preventing stability from being restored to the border, which makes their pullout necessary so that the Lebanese army can continue its deployment and allow the state to impose its authority across the country, the president urged.

He told the French delegation that the army is deployed along the northern and eastern borders and is carrying out its duties there, especially combating terrorism, human-trafficking and drug smuggling.

Aoun stressed that he is in contact with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to coordinate over border issues to prevent any unrest.

Joint committees have been formed after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Damascus in order to address pending issues, especially the demarcation of the land and maritime borders and Syrian refugees still in Lebanon, Aoun said.

Now that war in Syria is over, the refugees who are still in Lebanon are staying for economic reasons, he explained, saying that Beirut has called on the international community to provide them with assistance to allow them to go back to their country.

The assistance should not be paid in Lebanon, which will only encourage the refugees to stay, he noted.