After a week-long campaign in the mountainous no-man’s land near the village of Arsal in northern Lebanon, Hizbollah and the group formerly known as Jabhat Al Nusra signed a truce that ensured militants, fighters, their families and several thousand refugees could cross the Syrian border and go to Idlib.
Since 2011, several incidents at the border have been a tell-tale sign that the conflict could cross into the plains of the Beqaa Valley. This is mainly linked to Hizbollah’s active participation in the war, though several terrorist attacks have touched various Lebanese regions in the past few years.
The country’s government, held hostage by the powerful Iran-backed militia, was operating under a presidential vacuum that lasted two and a half years, in a state which the economy and security may reach breaking point at any moment. Several months into his presidential mandate, Michel Aoun has been unable to bring about the many reforms he had promised and has described Hizbollah as "an essential part" of the country's defence architecture. The country is strained by more than one million registered Syrian refugees and a sovereign public debt expected to grow to more than 160 per cent of GDP by 2021, according to the IMF.
Some say that Lebanon has served as a land of asylum for refugees ever since wars started troubling the region. The conflict between Palestine and Israel at the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s led to the establishment of several refugee camps in Lebanon, many of which are home to refugees living in precarious circumstances, under the yoke of armed factions that violate stability and often enter into confrontations with the Lebanese Army.
In the meantime, the unwanted Syrian refugees that are willingly heading back to their home country will live in the fear of the unknown, where home may no longer be home.
Arsenal's pre-season fixtures
Thursday Beat Sydney 2-0 in Sydney
Saturday v Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney
Wednesday v Bayern Munich in Shanghai
July 22 v Chelsea in Beijing
July 29 v Benfica in London
July 30 v Sevilla in London
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
