US sends $50 m worth of army equipment to Lebanon

The United States delivered $50 million worth of equipment, including 50 armored vehicles, 40 pieces of artillery and 50 grenade launchers, to the Lebanese army on Aug. 9 as assistance for fighting “extremist elements.” In Israel it is feared that some of the equipment will be funneled to the Hizballah terrorists.

The delivery brings total US military aid to Lebanon in 2016 to $220 million, US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard said. The country has seen violence spill over periodically from neighboring Syria, where a bloody war has been raging since 2011. Lebanon, a country with a population of about 4.5 million people, hosts more than 1 million Syrian refugees.