US envoy Morgan Ortagus on Sunday said that Hezbollah and other armed groups should be disarmed as soon as possible, stating that Lebanese troops were expected to do the job.
Ortagus said this while speaking to Lebanese broadcaster LBCI at the end of a three-day visit to Beirut, where she met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and other officials and political representatives.
Her visit came after several weeks of intensifying Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon targeting members of Iran-backed Hezbollah and the group's weapons depots, including two strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, and rocket fire from Lebanon onto Israel.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah denied any role in the rocket attacks.
She said the exchange of fire tested an already shaky ceasefire that ended a year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, calling for the disarmament of armed groups across the country.
“It's clear that Hezbollah has to be disarmed, and it's clear that Israel is not going to accept terrorists shooting at them, into their country, and that's a position we understand.
“We continue to press on this government to fully fulfill the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hezbollah and all militias,” she said.
