by reuters, Lebanon appointed
General Joseph Aoun as army commander on Wednesday, replacing General
Jean Kahwaji at the head of a force that has been guarantor of civil
peace since the 1975-90 civil war. The
Lebanese government also filled several high-ranking security and
judicial posts, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said in a televised
announcement after a cabinet meeting. General Imad Othman was appointed head of the Internal Security Forces, replacing Major General Ibrahim Basbous. Previously posted: Gulfnews, Beirut: Brigadier General Joseph Aoun is expected to be
appointed as
the new Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). He will succeed
General Jean Qahwaji. General Qahwaji was appointed military chief under
the presidency of Michel Sulaiman in 2008. Aoun
(no relation to President Michel Aoun) was born in 1964 in Aychiye,
East of Sidon, a predominantly Maronite Village in South Lebanon. He
joined the military right out of college and reached his current rank
after he assumed command of the 9th Brigade, which served in South
Lebanon alongside United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) with
whose officers he is quite familiar with. Aoun has been slated to head
the LAF since 2015, but Qahwaji’s term was extended twice.
In addition to this critical new appointment, the Cabinet is apparently slated to designate Major General Emad Othman, who is currently serving as a director general of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), to become its Commander. He will be promoted to succeed Major General Ebrahim Basbous. Reliable sources told Al Jumhuriyyah that Major-General Khalil Yahiya, secretary-general of the Supreme Defence Council, will succeed Major-General Mohammad Khayr, and that Major-General Tony Saliba will replace Major General George Qara‘a as head of the State Security Service.
Major-General Khalid Hammoud is slated to become head of the ISF’s Intelligence Branch and Major-General Samir Sinan as deputy to the State Security Service. Parallel to these appointments, Major General Abbas Ebrahim, the director general of public security will resign from the military, allowing him to stay in office until the retirement age for civilians, which is 64 years old.
