The Lebanese army will not abandon southern Lebanon, army Gen Joseph Aoun said in a speech marking the country’s 81st year of independence, despite a vicious Israeli ground invasion in the region that has so far seen more than 40 Lebanese soldiers killed according to AFP. “The army is still deployed in the south, where soldiers are making sacrifices and being martyred for Lebanon,” Gen Aoun said. The army will “not abandon [south Lebanon] because it is an integral part of our national sovereignty.”
