The Lebanese army will not starve. Yesterday, January 30, the portal military.com He reported that the US State Department has made changes to the plans for providing military assistance: Egypt will receive less than $ 130 million, while Lebanon will receive $67 million.
Since 2019, the country has been experiencing one of the strongest financial crises: the Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value, "destroying" military salaries and the army budget. Last year, the Lebanese Armed Forces appealed for international assistance, asking for supplies of food, fuel, medicines and spare parts for equipment. The US indicates that financial assistance in the amount of $ 67 million will help strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces and stop the outflow of personnel from the troops.
Soldiers of the Lebanese Army.
Image source: reuters.com
At the same time, Egypt will receive less than $ 130 million of the total amount of military assistance in the amount of $ 300 million. In the United States, this is argued by the fact that Egypt has not fulfilled its obligations, in particular, has not sufficiently improved the human rights situation in the country. As the portal writes military.com In recent years, the Egyptian government has carried out a large-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mostly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.