US pledges more military aid for Lebanon
Soldiers in Beirut, Lebanon, on 14 October 2021 after armed clashes broke out between rival sectarian groups. (Photo: Jamal Eddine/Alamy)
An extra $67 million in assistance for the Lebanese Army is the latest tranche of US funding, announced on the same day as an outbreak of sectarian violence in the capital Beirut.
The US government is offering an extra $67 million in aid for the Lebanese Army, US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland announced in Beirut on 14 October.
Her announcement came on the same day as violence erupted in Beirut between members of Hezbollah and its opponents, who are angered by attempts from the Shi’ite terrorist group to disrupt the investigation into the massive August 2020 port warehouse blast that killed at least 200 people.
The US State Department describes security assistance for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) as ‘a key component’ of US policy towards the Middle Eastern country.
Since 2006, US investments of more than $2.5 billion in the LAF included military grants of $216 million in FY2020 alone and $1.83 billion in active FMS proposals. Examples cited by the State Department include HMMWVs, Huey II helicopters, AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and TOW 2A anti-tank missiles.
One notable FMS delivery in recent years saw the arrival of six A-29s Super Tucanos for the Lebanese Air Force in June 2018.
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