London renews demand to deploy combat troops in Lebanon: Report

The Cradle, September 12, 2024 — 

The UK first attempted to advance this agreement to the Lebanese government prior to 7 October and the outbreak of the war.

The UK has renewed pressure on the Lebanese government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would allow London unrestricted military access to Lebanon’s soil, including the deployment of British troops in the country, Al-Akhbar reported on 11 September.

“The purpose of the memorandum is to define the responsibilities and general principles regarding the deployment of British armed forces within Lebanese territory for purposes other than training activities,” the draft copy of the memorandum, obtained by Al-Akhbar, reads. 

The UK Foreign Office submitted the draft in July. 

At the end of August, the foreign office sent a two-page letter to the Lebanese government “requesting facilities to deploy its army in Lebanon for the purposes of evacuating citizens, and in the event that Lebanon needs humanitarian assistance from Britain.” 

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry recently sent the draft to the Lebanese army, according to Al-Akhbar.

“The above-mentioned draft memorandum of understanding was studied from all aspects, and the study concluded that the memorandum of understanding raises concerns about Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, with the scope of the mission of the British armed forces unclear, which increases the state of uncertainty,” the newspaper cites the army response as saying. 

The army reportedly “acted as if” it was not informed and did not give prior approval for the UK memorandum, Al-Akhbar revealed.

The UK initially justified this request as a precautionary measure for evacuating citizens in case of war, citing past failures in Afghanistan and Sudan.

However, sources have confirmed to Al-Akhbar that the British requests predate Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the outbreak of the war in October.

Al-Akhbar had revealed in November last year that the UK was pushing Lebanon to accept this agreement. 

The clauses include granting British military personnel immunity from arrest or prosecution, adding that if any are detained, they must be immediately handed over to UK forces. Another is giving them authority to move around the country armed and in uniform.

“The memorandum guarantees that, in the event of a misinterpretation or non-compliance with the terms, Lebanon will not be able to resort to any international court or third party to resolve the dispute,” Al-Akhbar wrote in November. 

The Lebanese government has said that the MoU constitutes a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.