Key Takeaways:
- Fighting between rival factions in the Ain el Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp killed 13 people and heavily damaged multiple neighborhoods in late July and early August. After the clashes subsided, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East issued an appeal for USD 15.5 million to initiate an emergency response to assist camp residents.
- A Hezbollah-owned truck transporting ammunition overturned in Kahaleh on August 9. Tensions escalated between the truck drivers and local residents following the accident, culminating in a firefight that claimed the lives of a Kahaleh resident and a Hezbollah member. Multiple people involved in or who were witnesses to the incident were called to testify at the Military Court in the second half of August.
- The United Nations Security Council renewed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate for one year. An amended version of article 16 of UNSC resolution 2695 reaffirms that UNIFIL can operate independently, but also that it must “coordinate with the Lebanese government”. The renewal came as United States Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein visited Lebanon, where he reportedly met with Lebanese officials to discuss offshore natural gas exploration and the demarcation of Lebanon’s southern border.
- The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom leveled sanctions on former Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and some of his former associates. The Special Investigation Commission, headed by the acting Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri, also froze accounts belonging to Salameh, his brother Raja, and his son Nady.
- PrimeSouth Lebanon, the company operating the Zahrani and Deir Aamar power plants that provide almost half of Lebanon with electricity, halted operations for one day due to delayed payments from state electricity company Electricite du Liban (EdL). The Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment also announced that it cannot pay EdL in US dollars to power its operations, resulting in a reduction of public water provisioning. The announcement has raised concerns that public water services could be severely reduced or even halted in the Beirut and Mount Lebanon area.
- Alvarez & Marsal’s preliminary audit report found that the Central Bank accrued a negative balance of USD 70.9 billion between 2015 and 2020, largely due to “financial engineering” measures. The report also found that bank operations were not adequately transparent or accountable and that former Governor Salemeh operated the bank with little oversight during the studied term.
- The Caretaker Government Cabinet approved an LBP line of credit valued at approximately USD 50 million for the Ministry of Education to finance USD payments to public school teachers. According to Caretaker Minister of Education Abbas Halabi, the approved amount covers three to four months, while the entire school year requires USD 150 million in funding.
By Crisis Analytics Team, Mercy Corps Lebanon
