Lebanon.. Decision to Restrict Weapons in Beirut to "Legitimate Forces Only"

SadaNews - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stated on Thursday that the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran should include Lebanon. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed that the Cabinet has made a decision to extend the army's control over the capital Beirut and to restrict weapons to the hands of legitimate forces, along with filing a complaint to the United Nations Security Council regarding the "Israeli assaults" on the country.

According to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun said at the beginning of a Cabinet meeting: "The communications that the Prime Minister and I are making with several friends of Lebanon in the world call for giving an opportunity, as was given to the United States and Iran, for a ceasefire and moving towards negotiations, and pressing towards Lebanon being part of the ceasefire agreement so we can start negotiations".

Aoun added: "The second main point is that we are a sovereign state that exists, and it is the state that negotiates. We will not accept anyone else negotiating on our behalf. We have the ability and capability to negotiate, and therefore we do not want anyone to negotiate on our behalf. This is something we will not accept".

For his part, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke to reporters, pointing to two decisions taken in the Cabinet: the first is to "file an urgent complaint to the United Nations Security Council about the escalation of Israeli assaults on Lebanon, particularly in the capital Beirut, which resulted in a large number of civilian casualties".

As for the second decision, according to Nawaf Salam, it involves: "Directing the army and security forces to immediately start enhancing the full control of the state over the Beirut governorate, restricting weapons in it to legitimate forces only, strictly enforcing the laws, and taking all necessary measures against violators and referring them to the competent judiciary".