Govt orders army to plan arms control

The Lebanese government commissioned the army to set out an action plan to keep all weapons in the war-weary country under state control by year's end, a step that may ratchet up tensions between authorities and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

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The government, which Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed this year after a ceasefire agreement ended a two-month war between Israel and Hezbollah, is targeting reforms required to overcome Lebanon's lingering financial crisis. The demilitarisation of the Lebanese militia, which has been greatly degraded during the Israeli offensive in late 2024, is a crucial step to edge closer to appeasing the US and Israel but is one that Hezbollah opposes.