DAILY SCOPE: al-Nusra Terrorist Group Moves Towards Druze, Resistance Tightens Siege

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS HEADLNES:

AS-SAFIR

Saudi Message to France: Freeze Arms Donation

AL-AKHBAR

Syrian Kurds: Plan to Split

AN-NAHAR

Four car bombs Rock Sanaa, Tens Killed and Injured

AL-BINAA

"Israel" Declares Area on Syrian Borders Military Zone, Supports al-Nusra in Hadar

AL-LIWAA

Salam, SISI: To Confront Terrorism Together, Revive Economic Cooperation

Lebanese papers on Thursday shed light on a variety of domestic matters, and focused on the Yemeni crisis and the Geneva peace talks which remain in deadlock so far.

Qatari Ransom for Lebanese Army Hostages --- AL-AKHBAR

The release of the Lebanese servicemen taken hostage by the terrorist groups in Syria last year is awaiting Qatar's payment of a ransom as part of the prisoner exchange deal, al-Akhbar daily said on Thursday.

Al-Akhbar quoted ministerial sources as saying that the release of the hostages hinges on the payment of "huge amounts of money to the terrorists as part of the deal."

The so-called Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front abducted the soldiers and policemen when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August last year. At the same time, as the negotiations carried out by an envoy from Qatar with al-Nusra Front have made progress, the talks with the so-called IS have hit a deadlock over their crippling demands.

Al-Nusra Front has reportedly said it would release the servicemen in its captivity in return for freeing around 16 of the extremists jailed in Lebanon's Roumieh prison.

Saudi Arabia Asks France to Freeze Arms Deal to Lebanese Army --- AS-SAFIR

As-Safir newspaper reported that Saudi Arabia has asked French authorities to freeze the delivery of weapons to the Lebanese army under a Saudi grant, quoting informed French sources as saying that "Paris received an official message from Riyadh in May asking it to freeze the delivery of the rest of the arms."

Also, the letter requested France not to inform Lebanese authorities about the decision to freeze the delivery, they said. The Lebanese army received the first batch of weapons, including Milan anti-tank missiles, under the $3 billion Saudi grant in April. Thursday's report came a day after the same newspaper said that they are dysfunctional.

Iran had offered the Lebanese army an arms donation without prior conditions, to help it confront the extremist groups in Lebanon, but the obstruction came from the Lebanese side.

Iranian presidential envoy Morteza Sarmadi had reiterated his country's willingness to send much-needed weapons to the Lebanese Army, which is confronting extremists on the eastern border with Syria.

"Whether we live under sanctions or if sanctions were partially or completely lifted, we are ready for the [weapons] donation," Sarmadi said in remarks published by local newspaper As-Safir in April.

"There are no obstacles on our part," he said, emphasizing that Tehran is "willing to meet its commitment" if the Lebanese were able to agree to receive military assistance from Iran.

Lebanese Patriarch Visits Iraqi Kurdish Erbil in Support of Christians --- AL-JOMHOURIYA

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is scheduled to travel to the Iraqi Kurdish region of Erbil on Friday to follow up the situation of Christians who have been displaced as a result of the so-called Islamic State group's onslaught, reported al-Jomhouriya newspaper on Thursday.

The paper said that al-Rahi will be accompanied during the one-day visit by the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola, who arrived in Beirut on Wednesday, and several members of the Lebanese Council of Maronite Bishops. Their trip is aimed at stressing to the Christians in the region the Vatican's interest in solving the problems they are facing, said the sources.

Nusra Moves towards Druze, Resistance Tightening Siege --- AL-BINAA

A military source told al-Binaa newspaper on Thursday that the shelling carried out by the resistance in the Eastern areas at the borders with Syria is to either prepare for the advancement of the resistance forces into the areas where the terrorist groups are concentrated, or to overwhelm the extremist groups and prevent them from carrying out any attack on the resistance posts or any of the villages and towns of the Bekaa region.

Well-informed sources also told the paper that al-Nusra terrorist groups have attacked the Druze area of Hader because of their defeat in the Tha'ala airport; al-Nusra was unable to enter Swaida and replaced the al-Fateh army with the Hermon army. Moreover, the source added that as the al-Nusra groups moved their battle towards Qunaitra and Golan, "Israel" now sits in an awkward position because it claims support for the Druze people, whilst it does not deny it has links with the al-Nusra front and the terrorist groups, whom it provides with logistic aid.

Source: al-Ahed News, Edited by website team