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Arab World

Lebanese Army Faces Criticism over Delay in Enforcing Monopoly on Arms

Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)
Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)
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Lebanese Army Faces Criticism over Delay in Enforcing Monopoly on Arms

Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)
Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal and troops inspect the border with Israel. (Army Command)

Several Lebanese MPs from the Change parliamentary bloc and independent lawmakers launched a wave of criticism against Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haikal, suggesting that the army has been lenient in implementing government decisions regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah north of the Litani River.

The criticism prompted counter-reactions from other officials expressing solidarity with the army and voicing support for its role.

On Saturday, Haikal said that “Israeli attacks targeting Lebanon and its citizens are hindering the implementation of the army’s plan”.

He stressed that the “command makes its decisions in line with the complex circumstances on the ground, with the primary goal of preserving Lebanon, safeguarding its unity, and maintaining the military institution”.

He added that the “army is operating under severe internal and external pressure and with limited resources, while exerting every effort to protect domestic stability and national unity”.

Independent MPs and lawmakers from the Change bloc criticized Haikal.

MP Michel Moawad said the army’s stance contradicts its constitutional role and could undermine efforts by the government and the international community to move Lebanon out of the war and reinforce a clear separation between the state and Hezbollah.

MP Mark Daou also expressed surprise at the stance of the Lebanese army command, saying it should have clearly affirmed its commitment to government decisions and explicitly stated that the military wing of Hezbollah is now an outlaw under those decisions.

MP Waddah Sadek said the Lebanese army command is not a political body that expresses opinions on developments or proposes solutions. Rather, he stressed, it is responsible for an institution tasked with implementing the decisions of the executive authority, including the recent government’s decision declaring Hezbollah an outlaw.

The army command is required to implement government decisions immediately. It does not have the authority to assess them, according to Sadek.

The criticism of the army also drew backlash from other MPs.

Former MP Fares Souaid said attacks on the military at this stage are irresponsible, stressing that any mistakes should be addressed within state institutions rather than through public criticism of a body that safeguards civil peace.

Meanwhile, Lebanon and France postponed an international conference to support the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces that had been scheduled in Paris on March 5, citing unsuitable conditions amid the ongoing regional tensions linked to the Iranian–US–Israeli confrontation.

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Arab World

UN Worried about Impact of Latest Lebanon War on Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Worried about Impact of Latest Lebanon War on Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)

The deputy director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP on Thursday that she was "deeply concerned" about the impact of the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict on agriculture in south Lebanon.

The latest war "puts additional pressure on farmers and rural communities that, frankly, were already facing considerable hardships", said the FAO's Beth Bechdol.

"We're deeply concerned" about the situation in south Lebanon, where agriculture is "at the heart" of livelihoods, she said in an interview in Beirut.

"It is our best assessment that 56,000 hectares, which is more than 22 percent of Lebanon's agricultural land, has been reported as affected or damaged," including burned or physically damaged, she said.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.

The conflict came after hostilities that erupted in 2023 and all-out war the following year.

While the latest violence has decreased since a June ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, mainly from the south, and Israel maintains troops in a self-declared "security zone" running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanon along the border.

Israeli forces have been carrying out widespread demolitions affecting villages and farmland.

"Farmers and their families are no longer able to be connected to their agricultural land," Bechdol said, noting that the conflict has also "disrupted markets and reduced access" to essentials for food production including fertilizers.

In June, a UN-backed assessment from Lebanese authorities estimated agricultural production losses in south Lebanon this year had reached at least $530 million.

Bechdol also expressed concern about potential contamination and soil damage in south Lebanon due to unexploded ordnance and residues from military operations.

She said she had held discussions in recent days on the possibility of the FAO getting involved in partnerships on de-mining work in south Lebanon.

She also said she was "very concerned about just general food security levels" in Lebanon.

In April, a UN-backed report said more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon were expected to face acute hunger in the following months due to the latest war.

This week, UNICEF said four in five households in Lebanon "are struggling to afford basic necessities as conflict compounds years of economic crisis".

Arab World

Eritrea Severs Diplomatic Ties with Ethiopia After Addis Ababa Orders Closure of Embassy in Asmara

A view of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP)
A view of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP)
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Eritrea Severs Diplomatic Ties with Ethiopia After Addis Ababa Orders Closure of Embassy in Asmara

A view of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP)
A view of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP)

Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata on Thursday, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic ties with its neighbor after overnight blasts heard in Addis Ababa sparked fears about renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia spreading.

Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea and Sudan of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) that has battled troops loyal to Ethiopia's federal government since last week. The three countries deny the accusation.

The clashes mark the biggest escalation of fighting in Ethiopia since the end of a 2020-2022 civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Eritrea had fought in support of Ethiopia's federal government in that conflict.

Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it had "decided to close its Embassy in Asmara, Eritrea, in response to Eritrea's direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence against Ethiopia".

It also said in a statement posted on its X account that 10 Eritrean diplomats, whom it did not name, were required to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours.

RESPONSE

Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters that by expelling all Eritrean diplomats from Ethiopia the government was effectively closing ‌its embassy in Addis Ababa.

"Eritrea ‌has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all ‌the negative corollaries ⁠that this entails," ⁠the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Ethiopia's government also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation and two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian source, said Cairo had responded in kind by declaring an Ethiopian embassy counsellor in Egypt persona non grata and giving him 48 hours to leave.

The source described Ethiopia's move against the Egyptian diplomat as "unfortunate" and unjustified, and said Egypt had consistently rejected interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

The saber-rattling moves came hours after explosions were heard in Ethiopia's capital and added to concerns that the fighting could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

A source linked to the opposition alliance told Reuters it had carried out several drone strikes in Addis Ababa, ⁠including some that targeted the military's headquarters.

If confirmed, it would be the first known drone attack by anti-government forces ‌on Addis Ababa, which is hundreds of km (miles) from the front lines in the northern ‌regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar.

Three diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed the blasts. Witnesses said there was no damage ‌visible near the military base.

Spokespeople for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office, the federal government, the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the TPLF did not respond to ‌requests for comment.

FRIEND-TURNED-FOE

Ethiopia's embassy in Eritrea was reopened in 2018 as part of a rapprochement with Asmara that won Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed the Nobel Peace Prize.

The militaries of both countries fought side by side against the TPLF, Tigray's main party, during the 2020-2022 war. But Eritrea was not a party to the peace deal that ended the fighting in November 2022, and relations between the two nations quickly soured.

The two governments have also exchanged words over the issue of access to the Red Sea, with landlocked ‌Ethiopia insisting that sea access is vital for its security and economy. Asmara has said it fears Addis Ababa will try to take its Assab port by force.

Days after the latest clashes broke out, the chief administrator ⁠of the northern Afar region, Haji ⁠Awol Arba, told Al Jazeera that Eritrean soldiers had crossed into Afar to join the opposition alliance's offensive.

Eritrea's information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal troops and allied militiamen, meanwhile, made fresh gains in Tigray and Afar, a pro-government militia said on Thursday. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

INTELLIGENCE SERVICE BANS DRONE FLIGHTS OVER CAPITAL

The national intelligence service has banned drones over Addis Ababa. Opposition forces had not previously been known to use armed drones but there is growing evidence they may possess some capability.

On Tuesday, the pro-government Tigray Peace Forces (TPF) militia said it had captured drone frames and batteries from forces linked to the TPLF, which is the main political party in Tigray.

Edward Bach, Senior Africa Analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said the opposition's ability to strike Addis Ababa would be "a political game-changer", undermining any government narrative that the capital is unaffected by the war and narrowing a key tactical advantage for federal forces, their aerial superiority.

Federal forces have been advancing in southern Tigray, edging closer to the regional capital Mekelle, while the opposition alliance has captured towns in neighboring Afar.

Pro-government forces also recaptured the town of Erbeti in Afar, which TPLF forces had seized at the start of the conflict, the TPF said on X, thanking the ENDF for "magnificent air support".

In Afar, where the TPLF captured several towns in the early days of the new conflict, fighting has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, Valerie Browning, a founder of the Afar Pastoralist Development Association, told Reuters.

Arab World

Algerian Parliament Approves Death Penalty for Arson, Child Abduction

Lawmakers vote on a bill to amend the penal code. (Algerian Parliament)
Lawmakers vote on a bill to amend the penal code. (Algerian Parliament)
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Algerian Parliament Approves Death Penalty for Arson, Child Abduction

Lawmakers vote on a bill to amend the penal code. (Algerian Parliament)
Lawmakers vote on a bill to amend the penal code. (Algerian Parliament)

Algeria’s National People’s Assembly approved a bill on Thursday expanding the death penalty for arson and crimes against children, drawing opposition warnings about the irreversible consequences of judicial error.

The amendments to the penal code, passed by a large majority, provide for capital punishment for deliberately setting fire to forests and property, and for child abductions followed by murder or brutal abuse.

The measures aim to strengthen legal deterrence and protect society.

The government secured passage with support from lawmakers in the “presidential majority” — parties that back President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s policies: the National Liberation Front, the Democratic National Rally, the Future Front and the National Construction Movement.

Islamist lawmakers from the Movement of Society for Peace, the Ennahda Movement and the Justice and Development Front also backed the bill on religious grounds, despite being in opposition.

Lawmakers from the Workers’ Party, the Socialist Forces Front and the Rally for Culture and Democracy voted against it. Their small numbers gave them little sway over the outcome.

Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa attended the vote after presenting the bill to the assembly last Monday.

Tougher penalties, renewed debate

The bill, which has stirred considerable controversy in Algeria, contains eight articles, including new provisions on arson, attacks on property and child abduction.

Among the toughest is Article 395 bis, which prescribes the death penalty for “anyone who deliberately sets fire to forests, scrubland, fields, whether cultivated or uncultivated, trees or sections of forest.”

It also covers timber stored in piles or bundles within forest areas.

Article 396 bis 1 extends capital punishment to “the deliberate burning of any property, public or private” when committed “for the benefit of a foreign state or foreign entity, in connection with treason, collusion with the enemy or membership in an organized criminal group.”

Article 396 bis 2 targets anyone who “incites, encourages, finances, organizes or facilitates these acts,” including acts committed or incited through social media.

For crimes against children, Article 291 prescribes the death penalty for “anyone who abducts a child, tortures a child, sexually assaults a child or amputates one of a child’s limbs,” notwithstanding any conflicting penalty under existing legislation.

Those convicted of any of these crimes cannot benefit from mitigating circumstances, further tightening the penalties.

The government proposed the amendments in direct response to devastating fires that swept through parts of eastern Algeria this summer, killing dozens of people. The killing of children after their abduction has also become alarmingly more prevalent in recent years.

“Justice should not respond to death with death”

The opposition warned that the law could turn the judiciary into “an instrument of revenge,” instead of protecting victims’ rights and helping them secure redress while safeguarding defendants’ rights and guaranteeing a fair trial.

“We believe that true justice should not respond to death with death,” said Mohammed Abdoussi, a lawmaker from the Rally for Culture and Democracy.

“No one has the right to take another person’s life, and the state and the judiciary are no exception to this principle,” he told parliament in remarks reported by the media.

“Our position on the death penalty is therefore clear and rooted in principle, and we have expressed it on many occasions.”

He said his parliamentary group had proposed abolishing the death penalty and replacing it with life imprisonment in 2008.

During debate on the bill, the group raised the tragedy of the 2021 fires in Kabylie and the killing of Djamel Ben Ismail, who was brutally attacked after local residents wrongly accused him of starting the fires.

“Following this crime, 48 people were sentenced to death, before the number of death sentences was reduced to 38 on appeal,” Abdoussi said.

“This raises a crucial question: Had the initial sentences been carried out, 10 additional people could have lost their lives on the basis of rulings that were subsequently changed.”

“This example demonstrates the danger of a punishment that cannot be reversed once carried out,” he added. “Human justice, however accurate, remains susceptible to error, while a death sentence cannot be corrected after it has been carried out.”