Lebanon: Ministry of Defense inks two mine action agreements with UNDP, Dutch embassy

Lebanon’s Ministry of National Defense on Monday inked two mine action agreements with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Dutch Embassy in Lebanon. The agreement with the UNDP addresses the humanitarian and development impacts of mines, cluster munitions, Read More …

Fire extinguished on oil tanker off Syria after suspected drone attack

Syria’s oil ministry said firefighters on Saturday put out a fire on an oil tanker off the Baniyas refinery after a suspected attack by a drone coming from the direction of Lebanese waters. The identity of the vessel was unclear, Read More …

Lebanon: ‘Second Beirut bomb’ removed from port by German firm

A German firm has removed numerous containers holding hazardous chemicals from the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which are set to be shipped out of the country half a year after the catastrophic blast that destroyed the city. Germany’s Ambassador Read More …

Blue Helmets trained in robotic mine clearance

Thirty-one of Cambodia’s Blue Helmet troops are being trained to use robotics to clear mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) before being sent on United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions. Deputy director-general of the National Center for Peacekeeping Force, Mines and Explosive Read More …

New IRA links confirm Hezbollah’s growing terror threat in Europe

The latest allegations that senior representatives of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia met with members of a breakaway Irish terrorist group have highlighted the growing extent of the Iranian-backed organisation’s operations in Europe. For decades, Hezbollah’s primary focus has been the Middle Read More …

Explosive material found in Beirut port was stored for 15 years, says President Aoun

Several tonnes of highly explosive material found at Beirut’s port, just weeks after the same chemical was blamed for causing a massive detonation there, had been in storage for 15 years, the Lebanese president said on Friday. The army said Read More …

More explosives found outside Beirut port month after deadly explosion

The Lebanese military on Thursday discovered more than four tons of ammonium nitrate near Beirut’s port, where a deadly explosion killed nearly 200 people last month. The military said army experts were called in for an inspection and found the Read More …

Beirut blast: The other countries with dangerous dumps of explosives

The devastating explosion in Beirut is a grim reminder of a deeply troubling fact: the thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate unsafely stored in that city’s port is not the only site at risk of spontaneous detonation. In the Philippines, Read More …

Bomb disposal expert urges government funding to safeguard explosive stockpiles

Governments need to provide more funding to prevent catastrophes such as the Beirut port blasts by making explosive stockpiles safe, a leading bomb disposal expert has said. The Middle East is a particular area for concern with massive arsenals of Read More …

Massive blast sends seismic shock across Beirut, causing thousands of casualties

A huge explosion in a port warehouse district near the centre of Beirut killed more than 25 people, injured over 2,500 others and sent shockwaves across the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, shattering windows and causing apartment balconies to collapse. Officials Read More …

Lebanese Armed Forces, U.S. Navy Conduct Resolute Union Virtually Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

MANAMA, Bahrain — The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and U.S. Navy are conducting Resolute Union (RU) 20, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and maritime security operations bilateral military exercise being held from 27 July to 9 August. RU20 is the Read More …

Lessons Not Learned: The Israeli Experience in Lebanon (1985-2000) and America’s Forever Wars

This apparent lack of interest in “Israel’s Vietnam” appears tragic when one considers how closely the contours of that conflict foreshadowed the tactical and operational challenges American forces would face in the “Forever Wars” of Afghanistan and Iraq. Perhaps no Read More …

South Lebanon Banks Attacked with Explosives

The Lebanese army and security forces are investigating two attacks on banks in South Lebanon, after an explosive device detonated near a branch and a Molotov cocktail was tossed at an ATM. Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that investigators were Read More …