BEIRUT: Lebanon is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday, as the country ​races to fulfil a key demand of its ceasefire with Israel before a year-end deadline.

The US-backed ceasefire, agreed in November 2024, ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the disarmament of the Iran-aligned militant group, starting in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.

Lebanese authorities, ‌led by President ‌Joseph Aoun and Salam,

tasked

the US-backed Lebanese ‌army ⁠on ​August ‌5 with devising a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms by the end of the year.