By Maya Gebeily
BEIRUT, Jan 14 (Reuters) – A senior Hezbollah official has warned Lebanon’s government that pressing on with efforts to disarm the group throughout the country would trigger chaos and possibly civil war, according to comments circulated by the armed group on Wednesday.
Lebanon has pledged to bring all arms in the country under state control, in line with a 2024 agreement that ended a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hezbollah insists that deal only applies to the southernmost region of Lebanon that borders Israel and has refused to relinquish its arsenal elsewhere.
In an interview with Russian state media outlet RT, senior Hezbollah political official Mahmoud Qmati said pursuing a state monopoly on arms further north would be “the biggest crime committed by the state”.
“The path taken by the Lebanese government and state institutions will lead Lebanon to instability, chaos and perhaps even civil war,” Qmati said, though he added that Hezbollah would not be dragged into a confrontation with Lebanon’s army.
The Lebanese army said last week that it had taken operational control in the area between the Litani River and Israel’s border. The Lebanese cabinet has asked the army to brief it in early February on how it would pursue disarmament in other parts of the country.
Hezbollah has said that Israeli troops must withdraw from five hilltop positions they occupy in southern Lebanon, halt near-daily airstrikes on Lebanon and release detained Lebanese before any further disarmament is discussed.
“There will be no talk or dialogue about any situation north of the Litani River before Israel withdraws from all Lebanese territory, liberates the South and the prisoners, and stops its violations against Lebanon,” said Qmati.
Israel says that efforts to disarm Hezbollah fighters have been insufficient, raising pressure on Lebanese leaders who fear Israel could escalate strikes.
The war in Gaza that erupted in October 2023 triggered months of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, with near-daily exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel frontier.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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