Lebanese army to begin implementing Hezbollah disarmament plan, government says

Lebanon’s military will move forward with a plan to disarm Hezbollah, the country’s Information Minister announced Friday following a government session on the matter.

“The Lebanese army will begin implementing the (Hezbollah disarmament) plan, but in accordance with the available capabilities, which are limited in terms of logistics, material, and human resources,” Information Minister Paul Morcos told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

Morcos added that the government has decided to keep the specifics of the army’s strategy confidential.

Read more: VIDEO: Hezbollah's Qassem rejects disarmament ahead of US-Lebanon talks

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem reaffirmed previously his group’s refusal to disarm, ahead of planned discussions between Lebanese officials and visiting US envoys.

"We will not give up the weapons that protect us from attack," Qassem said in a televised address. "These weapons are our soul, our honour, our land, our dignity, our children's future. Whoever wants to take away these weapons wants to take away our souls."

The Lebanese government recently tasked its army with drafting a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, citing US pressure and concerns over potential escalation from 'Israel'. Hezbollah is the only faction in Lebanon that retained its weapons following the 1975-1990 civil war, maintaining them as a “resistance” force against 'Israel', and has consistently rejected calls to disarm.

Qassem criticized the government’s decision, claiming it was made under “US-Israeli dictates” and accusing Washington of seeking to “wreck Lebanon.”