Sources: Egypt Ready to Train Lebanese Army in Battle against Terrorists
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has expressed readiness to train Lebanese troops to help them in the fight against terrorists, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper quoted ministerial sources as saying that al-Sisi told Prime Minister Tammam Salam during a meeting in New York that Cairo was “ready to help as much as it could.”
“We are ready to welcome Lebanese army units and train them to confront terrorism,” the Egyptian president allegedly said.
Salam met with al-Sisi on the sidelines of the General Assembly session. He also held talks on Tuesday with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Jordan's King Abdullah II and other officials.
The PM told al-Arabiya TV on Tuesday that Lebanon needs increased international support to help the 1.3 million Syrian refugees it is currently hosting.
“The danger of terrorism is not limited to Lebanon but in the entire region and we are in need of support,” he said ahead of a meeting by the International Support Group for Lebanon.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq, engaged last month in bloody gunbattles with the Lebanese army in and around the northeastern border town of Arsal.
The terrorists took with them hostages from the military and police. They killed three of them and warned they would carry out more executions if the Lebanese authorities failed to meet their demands.
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