The caretaker Cabinet on Wednesday approved granting the Defense Ministry a treasury loan to recruit 1,500 soldiers for the Lebanese Army.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had announced at the Oct. 24 Paris conference that his government had decided to recruit more troops and could deploy 8,000 soldiers in the south as part of a plan to implement a ceasefire and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
He added that war-hit Lebanon would need international financial support to equip and train the army.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters in Paris that the 27-nation bloc would give the Lebanese Army 20 million euros ($21.59m) this year and 40 million euros ($43.18m) next year.