Page 11 - ARUBA TODAY
P. 11
WORLD NEWS A11
Friday 24 November 2017
Lebanese PM Hariri assures bankers stability comes first
PHILIP ISSA Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, center, greets the audience on his arrival to a regional delicate political system,
Associated Press banking conference, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017. Hariri told the conference stretched by competing
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese that the country’s stability is his primary concern. The remarks, a day after Hariri suspended his agendas in Saudi Arabia
Prime Minister Saad Hariri resignation, sought to assure the Hariri’s government would keep up the effort to have Lebanon and Iran. Saudi Arabia is
assured regional bankers remain a top Mideast destination for finance. seen as the guardian of
on Thursday that Lebanon’s Lebanon’s Sunnis and is a
stability was his top con- (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) main sponsor of its national
cern, one day after walking government and military.
back his shock resignation Arabia, raising fears of mar- chel Aoun on Wednesday, to allow for “consultations” Iran sponsors Lebanon’s
that threw his country into ket panic and recession. Lebanon’s Independence that would seek to safe- Shiites and mostly funnels its
turmoil. Hariri, speaking at But he told President Mi- Day, that he would stay on guard the tiny country’s funds and interests through
the Arab Banking Confer- the militant group Hezbol-
ence in Beirut, said his gov- lah. The market fears were
ernment was going to pri- not realized, but the events
oritize Lebanon’s interests pushed the debate over
over regional challenges foreign influence — and
and stressed a return to the Hezbollah’s formidable in-
country’s official policy of fluence in Lebanon and
“disassociation,” or neutral- the region — to the fore-
ity in regional affairs. front of Lebanese politics.
“Our primary concern in “We must look at all means
Lebanon is stability, and to reach the point where
that is what we are going Lebanon stands back (from
to focus on,” said Hariri. regional affairs), in prac-
Hariri stunned Lebanon tice, and not just in rheto-
and the region by resign- ric,” Hariri said at the bank-
ing on Nov. 4 while in Saudi ing conference.q
UN urges Iraq to probe troop violations during fight with IS
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN extrajudicial killings of IS sus- military defeat over ISIS into petrators. No outcomes but the problem is that
Associated Press pects to forced displace- victories for accountability have been published by there is not transparent re-
BAGHDAD (AP) — A top ment and detention of ci- and over impunity.” ISIS is the government on these porting on the outcomes of
United Nations official vilians. another acronym for IS. investigations. those investigations.” Also
Thursday called on the Iraqi On Friday, Iraqi forces Callamard told reporters in Callamard discussed with on Thursday, the Iraqi Army
government to speed up drove IS militants from the Baghdad that Iraq’s new officials from the govern- and PMF launched a new
investigations into allega- last Iraqi town near the “transition phase” pres- ment and Shiite-domi- military operation to clear
tions of human rights viola- Syrian borders more than ents “both opportunities nated paramilitary troops the al-Jazeera area from IS
tions committed by secu- three years after the mili- and challenges” and that known as Popular Mobili- militants, said a statement.
rity forces during the fight tant group stormed nearly the government should zation Forces, “six or seven The area is in a swath of
against the Islamic State a third of Iraqi territory, “respond effectively and large scale allegations,” desert between Salahud-
group and to make the re- keeping the militants scat- impartially to allegations including disappearances din, Anbar and Ninevah
sults of those probes public. tered in a wide desert area of violations in order to around Fallujah west of provinces north of the capi-
Since 2014, the U.S.-backed to the west and north of build and strengthen con- Baghdad and the killing of tal. During his weekly news
Iraqi forces’ fight against Baghdad. fidence.” some prisoners before the conference on Tuesday,
the Sunni militant group has Concluding an official visit The Iraqi government has June 2014 IS onslaught. She Iraqi Prime Minister Haider
been mired in violations to Iraq, Agnes Callamard, previously acknowledged didn’t divulge more details al-Abadi said that chasing
committed by government the U.N.’s special investi- some of the allegations, on other allegations, ex- down IS militants in the al-
forces and paramilitaries gator on extra-judicial ex- but insisted that these pecting to receive the re- Jazeera area and the west-
that international human ecutions, stressed to the were “individual acts” and sults within “a week or two.” ern desert will be the last
rights groups have decried Iraqi officials on “the im- promised to investigate She said that “investigations stage before declaring the
as war crimes, ranging from portance of translating the them and punish the per- have already taken place, final victory over IS.q
