Saudi Arabia Pledges $3 billion for Lebanese Army

Huge fund for "fighting terrorism" announced after the funeral of Mohamad Chatah, a senior Sunni politician killed in Beirut on Friday

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Hasan Shaaban / Reuters

Omar, center, son of former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who was killed in a bomb blast on Friday, carries his father's coffin at al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut on Dec. 29, 2013

Saudi Arabia is to provide Lebanon’s military with a $3 billion grant, ostensibly to help in the fight against terrorism.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman announced the windfall after the funeral of Mohamad Chatah, a senior Sunni politician who was one of six people killed in a car-bomb attack in Beirut on Friday.

Chatah, a moderate academic and former ambassador, disapproved of the support shown to Syrian President Bashar Assad by Lebanon’s Hizballah, who are Shi‘ite. Chatah was also a critic of Assad.

Saudi Arabia and Hizballah back opposing sides in Syria’s ongoing civil war.

[AP]