Lebanese army dismantles over ninety percent of Hezbollah infrastructure near Israel

(Patria) - The Lebanese army has dismantled "over ninety percent" of Hezbollah's infrastructure near the border with Israel since the November ceasefire, a security official said on Wednesday.

"We have dismantled over ninety percent of the infrastructure in the area south of the Litani River," the official, who requested anonymity as the matter is sensitive, told AFP.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, told Sky News Arabia in an interview that the army now controls over 85 percent of the country's south.

The November ceasefire agreement, which ended years of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, was based on a UN Security Council resolution stating that Lebanese troops and United Nations peacekeepers should be the only forces in southern Lebanon.

Under the agreement, Hezbollah was supposed to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani River, some thirty kilometers from the Israeli border, and dismantle all remaining military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Much of Hezbollah's robust underground infrastructure in the south has been "filled and sealed" by the army, the official said.

Soldiers have also stepped up control of crossings in the area south of the Litani River "to prevent the transfer of weapons north of the river towards the south".

Aoun, during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, said the Lebanese army "is fulfilling its role without any problems or opposition".

He said the only obstacle to the full deployment of soldiers across the border area is "the Israeli occupation of five border positions".

Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel was supposed to withdraw all its forces from southern Lebanon, but its troops remain in five positions it considers "strategic".

The security official, meanwhile, said Hezbollah had cooperated with the army.
"Hezbollah withdrew and said 'do whatever you want'... there is no longer military (infrastructure) for Hezbollah south of the Litani River," the official said.

The official added that most of the ammunition found by the army was either "damaged" by Israeli bombardment or "in such poor condition that it is impossible to store it," which led the army to detonate it.