The military career of 118 officers, whose recruitment has been anticipated since August 2023, remains in limbo, awaiting the outcome of an expected mediation to be handled by the caretaker Minister of Culture, Mohammed Mortada, who is trying to resolve the dispute between the Minister of Defense, Maurice Slim, and Army Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Aoun regarding the Military Academy.
On Wednesday, Mortada met with both parties to try to ease the tensions. He described these meetings as “positive,” which could prompt the caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to convene a Cabinet meeting to address the issue sometime next week.
In the summer of 2023, out of 800 candidates who applied for the Military Academy entrance exam, 118 were selected by the army command. Originally seeking to recruit 173 new officers, the caretaker Minister of Defense refused to endorse the exam results, citing the need for additional tests to enlist the remaining 55 officers required to meet the quota.
Slim’s abstention can be attributed to the “strained” relationship with the Army Commander-in-Chief. Tensions escalated following a dispute over the appointment of an officer to head the army’s inspection service. Additionally, Slim, who is close to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), had previously expressed a desire for General Joseph Aoun to be replaced, as part of a campaign led by the FPM against the army chief.
