DAILY SCOPE: Preparations to Distribute Refugees, 9 al-Nusra Killed in Strike

ASSAFIR:

Saudi Pays %20 of "Donation"; French Delegation to Beirut
Dialogue saves Arsal: Preparations to Distribute Refugees

AL-AKHBAR:

Al-Joulani to Al-Zawahiri: We Will Not Leave Al-Qaeda 

FUTURE:

Hariri Meets Sisi: Against "All Kinds of Eextremism"

The dailies also dealt with the case of the Syrian displaced, especially the ones located in the Arsal camps which has been one of the elements of discussion in the Hizbullah-Future sessions. Papers touched on the latest developments in Syria, shedding light on the military ops there. 

The Lebanese authorities will close a camp for Syrian refugees that lies behind the Lebanese army's last base on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, as-Safir daily reported on Monday. 

The paper quoted high-ranking sources as saying that the refugees will most likely be placed in different encampments in the eastern Bekaa Valley 10 to 15 kilometers from the border with Syria. The sources stressed that the measures will be strictly implemented and monitored to prevent the camps from turning into safe havens and hub for the terrorists who are using it to booby-trap vehicles and plot attacks against the Lebanese army or civilian targets.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam was quoted by an-Nahar daily on Monday as telling his visitors that "The continued successes of the Lebanese army recently go back to military aid and the huge support that the political parties and citizens are providing it with."

He said a 1 billion dollar grant from Saudi Arabia that was announced last year by the Future movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri is being spent quickly.As for a 3 billion dollar Saudi grant under which Lebanon would buy French weapons, it will be implemented starting April 4 based on a plan that Paris set with the military leadership, Salam told his visitors."The security measures taken by the army, the Internal Security Forces and General Security can help confront terrorism," Salam added.

Salam said the government's declared policy to distance Lebanon from the conflict in Syria prevented military cooperation between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to face threats posed by militants entrenched near the border with Lebanon. "We cannot at present depart from the disassociation policy," he said.

Meanwhile, al-Joumhouria newspaper said that a large delegation will accompany Salam to the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday to attend an economic summit.

It said Economy and Trade Minister Alain Hakim and a 40-member delegation of businessmen and economists headed by the head of the Economic Committees, Adnan Kassar, are among those to accompany Salam.

Meanwhile, a Qatari-appointed mediator will head to the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal this week to resume negotiations with the kidnappers of Lebanese army soldiers, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Monday.
Sources told the daily that the anonymous mediator will discuss with the abductors their demands and the list of detainees held in Lebanese prisons to be included in a prisoners swap deal.
Informed sources told al-Liwaa that the course of negotiations is ongoing and didn't halt, describing it as delicate, noting "We need time and exert further efforts to end the case."

Over a dozen of soldiers and policemen were abducted by al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front and the so-called "ISIL" gunmen in the wake of clashes in Arsal in August.

Also in news related to the army, Speaker Nabih Berri has lauded the Lebanese army for confronting extremits on the eastern border with Syria and arresting several terrorist networks.

In remarks to his visitors, Berri described the army's role as "a huge achievement that deserves appreciation and support."

He also said the military is contributing to stability in the country and expressed satisfaction with the security situation despite all the challenges, reported ad-Diyar.

On Syria, an-Nahar quoted an activist group as saying that an airstrike in northwestern Syria Sunday hit a camp used by the Nusra Front and killed at least nine of its fighters, in the second big attack on the group there in recent days.

The so-called "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights", a Britain-based monitoring group known for its links to the Syrian opposition, said four of the dead were foreign fighters. The airstrike hit close to Atme at the Syrian border with Turkey in Idlib province, and on the outskirts of a refugee camp. 

Last week, the Nusra Front said its top military commander and several other leaders were killed in a suspected airstrike in Idlib. The Syrian army said it carried out the operation.

Source: al-Ahed news