Lebanon faces choice between ‘state monopoly on arms or militia influence’, says president

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Saturday that his country faces a “fateful” choice between a state monopoly on weapons or remaining “hostage to the logic of militias,” Anadolu Agency reports. Aoun’s remarks came in a statement to mark the 48th anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese minister Tony Suleiman Frangieh, the presidency said on the US social media company X. “This painful anniversary comes as Lebanon today stands before a fateful crossroads: either its people unite around a sovereign state that monopolizes arms, upholds the rule of law, and protects its citizens regardless of affiliation or position, or it remains hostage to the logic of militias and a culture of exclusion,” Aoun said. Stating that national unity is an […]