Army Commander-in-Chief General Joseph Aoun stressed on Tuesday the need to “preserve the military institution” and “ensure its continuity and cohesion.”
“Throughout its modern history, our country has consistently confronted successive challenges in a region marked by bloody conflicts,” General Aoun stressed in a statement delivered on the occasion of the 80th Independence Day. In this regard, he referred to the war that has been going on since October 7 in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as well as “the repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty” on the part of the Hebrew state, which, as part of its attacks on villages in South Lebanon, resorts to shells “whose use is banned worldwide” (referring to phosphorus bombs, Editor’s note).
General Aoun continued, “At the same time, Lebanon is grappling with a number of challenges that are adversely affecting state institutions, including the military, which finds itself at a crucial phase in its history, overshadowed by a political tug-of-war. This comes at a time when the national interest demands that the military institution not be undermined, that its continuity and cohesion be guaranteed, and that the morale of the military be preserved.”
Addressing the soldiers, General Aoun hailed their achievements, stressing that despite all the challenges, they had “kept their spirits high” and “not wavered.” In this respect, he highlighted their efforts in southern Lebanon, in coordination with UNIFIL, to prevent the situation from deteriorating, as well as along the land borders to combat smuggling and illegal immigration. He also recalled the “complicated operations” that the troops are carrying out to “fight terrorist cells, organized crime and arrest drug traffickers.”
“You are preserving stability, civil peace and coexistence, in defiance of defeatist campaigns,” said General Aoun, as he saluted the memory of the fallen soldiers.
