DAILY SCOPE: Lebanon Played Humanitarian Role in Swap Deal

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS' HEADLINES:

Hundreds of Armed Forces, Opposition Civilians Evacuated...Extremist Leaders Disguise as Wounded

AN-NAHAR:

Zabadani Agreement Passes through Lebanon and Turkey, Demographic Exchange Establishes for "Something Big"

AL-AKHBAR:

Illegal Trade of Wastes

AL-BINAA:

Saudi, Turkish, "Israeli" Confusion after Qualitative Op in Douma, Waiting for Hizbullah's Response

THE DAILYSTAR:

Hundreds from Syria Towns Evacuated in Landmark Deal

The swap deal, to which Lebanon was a safe path, made the newspaper headlines today. Lebanese dailies shed light on the reactions that took place after the deal as well as on the details of the operation, pointing out that Lebanon played a humanitarian role in the process.

Newspapers also touched on other domestic and regional issues.

AL-JOMHOURIA-Ibrahim: Lebanon Played Humanitarian, Civil, Social Role in Swap Deal

Al-Jomhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday that General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, who had overseen contacts between the concerned Lebanese authorities to make sure the swap deal succeeds, explained that "Lebanon played a humanitarian, social, and civil role in the operation."

Hundreds of militants fighting against the Syrian government had been given safe passage by Damascus to evacuate three villages under a UN-brokered deal.

More than 120 militants were evacuated from the village of Zabadani, near the Lebanese border, on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At the same time, about "336 people" were evacuated from Foua and Kafraya, two villages in the northern province of Idlib that had been under siege by the militants. They were taken to Turkey from where they left for Lebanon and then returned to government-held areas in Syria.

On the same topic, al-Jomhouria also said that the Zabadani-Foua-Kafraya operation proved that stability in Lebanon is a regional and international necessity, and that such an important swap deal would not have taken place if there were domestic instability in Lebanon.

A General Security statement issued on Monday night stated that "the deal was carried out under the supervision of concerned Lebanese powers and in coordination with the United Nations."

On a different note, member of the Future Bloc MP Samir al-Jisr told the daily that the dialogue between the Future party and Hizbullah will continue in the coming Year, declaring that the next session will be convened on the seventh of January of the new year.

Dialogue between the two parties had kicked off on December 23, 2014. Following the third session on January 16, the conferees declared that they had made "clear progress" that might lead to results that can help "consolidate national stability."

Both sides have repeatedly voiced their support for dialogue between rival factions in an attempt to cope with the country's political and security challenges.

AL-LIWAA-Swap Deal Does Not Contradict with Dissociation Policy of Lebanon

Sources from the Future party defended the swap deal that took place on Monday, noting that "the operation does not contradict with Lebanon's policy of dissociation from the Syrian crisis."

Some sides in the country had accused the government on Monday that it was unaware was of the repercussion of the U.N. sponsored deal that involved the evacuation of Syrian rebels and wounded to Turkey via Lebanon.

The Kataeb party for instance claimed that the government has breached its own sovereignty by the step.

But officials in Lebanon voiced their support to the deal, noting Lebanon's role in preserving stability in the region.

AL-AKHBAR-Yemeni Army, Popular Committees Make New Advances

Field sources assured to al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday that the Saudi-coalition forces have been facing defeats in Ma'areb, where the popular committees and the Yemeni army retrieved many areas and took control of vast zones in the city. According to the paper the fate of Sana'a battle seems to be similar to that of Ta'iz; total failure.

Al-Akhbar further quoted a military source as saying that "the army and popular committees set an ambush for the armed groups in Eastern Sana'a where tens of them were killed and injured, including mercenary forces that have come to join the coalition troops.

In Ma'areb, sources said that the popular committees and the army are making constant advances, especially after they had succeeded in capturing Kofel military airport a few weeks ago.

The Saudi military aggression against the Yemeni nation has been going on amid relative international silence since March 26. About 7,500 people have lost their lives in the Saudi airstrikes and a total of nearly 14,000 people have been injured.

Riyadh launched the military aggression in a bid to undermine the popular Ansarullah Movement and restore power to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Source: al-Ahed News