Media: US urges Lebanon to ease army's authority in weapons searches

The United States has urged the Lebanese government to establish a legal mechanism that would allow the country's army to conduct weapons search and clearance operations in designated pilot areas without additional legal restrictions, Al Akhbar reports.

The outlet said the request came after the Lebanese Armed Forces informed the US mediator that soldiers are required to obtain judicial authorisation before searching private homes and other private properties.

The newspaper noted that Lebanese law prohibits security forces from entering private property without a court warrant.

However, Justice Minister Adil Nassar pointed to an early-1990s decree that allows the army to conduct searches without prior judicial approval when the objective is to seize illegal weapons from civilians or armed groups.

The Lebanese army, in turn, argued that the decree applies only when a crime has been committed, or there is an immediate security threat, and cannot serve as a legal basis for preventive searches based solely on suspicion or intelligence.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov