Lebanese military chief Joseph Aoun, who’s being touted as a potential candidate for the presidency, is a person with a troublesome mission following an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire that depends closely on his troops deploying within the south.
Aoun, 60, was set to retire final January after heading the military since 2017, however has had his mandate prolonged twice — the final time on Thursday.
The military, broadly revered and a uncommon supply of unity in a rustic riven by sectarian and political divides, has held collectively regardless of periodic social strife, the newest conflict and a crushing five-year financial disaster.
A fragile ceasefire took impact on Wednesday, ending greater than a yr of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed hundreds in Lebanon and precipitated mass displacements on each side of the border.
Beneath its phrases, the Lebanese military and United Nations peacekeepers are to develop into the one armed presence in south Lebanon, the place Hezbollah enjoys sturdy assist and had been launching assaults on Israeli troops for months, and combating them on the bottom since late September.
The transfer averted a navy energy vacuum as the military, which boasts about 80,000 Lebanese servicemen, seeks to bolster its deployment in south Lebanon as a part of the nascent truce.
However will probably be a tough activity in an space lengthy seen as Hezbollah territory, and dangers upsetting the nation’s already delicate social stability as tensions run excessive over the conflict’s course and devastation.
– ‘Integrity’ –
Aoun “has a status of non-public integrity”, mentioned Karim Bitar, a world relations skilled at Beirut’s Saint-Joseph College.
The military chief got here into prominence after main the military in a battle to drive out the Islamic State group from a mountanous space alongside the Syrian border.
“Throughout the Lebanese military, he’s perceived as somebody who is devoted… who has the nationwide curiosity at coronary heart, and who has been making an attempt to consolidate this establishment, which is the final non-sectarian establishment nonetheless on its toes within the nation,” he informed AFP.
Aoun has good relations with teams throughout the political spectrum, together with with Hezbollah, in addition to with varied international international locations.
Mohanad Hage Ali from the Carnegie Center East Middle famous that “being the pinnacle of US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, Joseph Aoun has ties to the US”.
“Whereas he maintained relations with everybody, Hezbollah-affiliated media typically criticised him” for his US ties, he informed AFP.
Washington is the primary monetary backer of Lebanon’s military, which additionally receives assist from different international locations together with Qatar.
A global convention in Paris final month raised $200 million to assist the armed forces.
The navy has been hit exhausting by Lebanon’s financial disaster, and at one level in 2020 mentioned it had scrapped meat from the meals supplied to on-duty troopers because of rising meals costs.
Aoun has additionally been floated by a number of politicians, events and native media as a possible candidate for Lebanon’s presidency, vacant for greater than two years amid impasse between allies of Hezbollah and its opponents, who accuse the group of searching for to impose its most popular candidate.
Aoun has not commented on the studies and largely refrains from making media statements.
– President? –
A Western diplomat informed AFP that “everybody has recognised Aoun’s observe report on the head of the military”.
“However the query is, can he rework himself right into a politician?” mentioned the diplomat, requesting anonymity to debate politically delicate issues.
Bitar mentioned that “many, even those that respect him are against his election as president, as a result of he comes from the military largely”, noting quite a few Lebanon’s heads of state, together with just lately, had been former military chiefs.
Most “left a bittersweet style”, Bitar mentioned, noting any election of Aoun may additionally perpetuate the concept the military chief “systematically turns into president”.
This might find yourself weakening the navy because it creates “an unhealthy relationship between political energy and the military, which is meant to stay impartial”, he added.
Hage Ali mentioned that the thought of Aoun’s “candidacy for the presidency didn’t obtain a lot enthusiasm from the main figures within the political class, even those that are against Hezbollah”.
Aoun, who speaks Arabic, French and English, hails from Lebanon’s Christian group and has two kids.
By conference, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the submit of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
He isn’t associated to the earlier Lebanese president Michel Aoun — additionally a former military chief — though the 2 served collectively within the navy.
