Report: Qahwaji to Head to Riyadh to Attend Military Meeting

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji will travel to Saudi Arabia at the head of a military delegation to participate in the fifth meeting for the chiefs of staff for Armed Forces.

According to al-Akbar newspaper published on Wednesday, the meeting will tackle the war against jihadists.

The high-ranking talks will be held at the end of January.

Qahwaji is expected to head to Riyadh to take part in the talks upon an official invitation.

In October, the army commander attended a similar meeting in Washington for senior commanders from more than 20 Western and Arab allies involved in the campaign to defeat jihadists.

However, Qahwaji's participation sparked a debate in Lebanon as the Lebanese are divided whether to take part of the coalition or not.

Lebanon first joined the coalition when Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil attended talks in Jeddah in September during which ten Arab countries agreed to help the U.S. in its fight against IS.

After Bassil's return from Jeddah, some officials began claiming that Lebanon is not part of the coalition over fears that warplanes would carry out strikes in the country in violation of its sovereignty.

Since August, the Lebanese army has been fighting militants from the Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front near the border with Syria. Earlier that month, the extremists crossed into the northeastern town of Arsal from Syria, capturing soldiers and policemen. Four of the soldiers have since been executed.

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