Lebanon’s negotiated ISIL removal angers many
Buses carrying hundreds of ISIL militants and families arrived in eastern Syria yesterday after a negotiated removal from the Lebanon-Syria border, where the USbacked Lebanese army was sent for the first time in years.
The agreement, the first such publicised deal reached with ISIL, angered many Iraqis who accused Syria and Hizbollah of dumping the militants on the Iraqi border rather than eradicating them.
About 600 militants were allowed to leave as part of a deal, negotiated by Hizbollah, in exchange for identifying the location of the remains of Lebanese soldiers captured by ISIL in 2014 and later killed.
The deal also provoked controversy in Lebanon, as some have voiced opposition to negotiations with ISIL.
“Any deals or understandings between the warring parties inside Syria or in the region must take into consideration the security of Iraq and not to lead to anything that poses any threat to our national security,” the Iraqi government spokesman, Saad Al Hadithi, told Associated Press yesterday.
Meanwhile in northern Syria, troops with the US-led coalition returned fire after being shot at near areas held by Turkish-backed rebels.
“Our forces received fire and returned fire then moved to a secure location,” coalition spokesman Col Ryan Dillon said.