Middle East forces have lifted a state of emergency that was imposed two weeks ago, said the French military that participated in the offensive to drive militants from a Lebanese Shi’ite town.
“The Lebanese Armed Forces has removed the stability security cordon around Mbalah town after clearing the area of terrorists,” a military official said on Monday, referring to a Lebanese town taken by jihadists in July.
Lebanon’s president also said on Monday that power was returning to the capital Beirut, two weeks after it was seized by Shiite Muslim groups aligned with Iran.
“The current supply of electricity is nine hours between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m.,” said President Michel Aoun. “Some areas have three hours, some with two hours and some with one hour. The most important ones are Bilel and Rosh al-Taqwa.”
Bilel is a key town in the Lebanese capital.
It was in Mbalah town that Lebanese fighters captured three Iranian generals and six soldiers from nearby Syrian army positions on July 16, firming up their hold on a key highway from Iran to the Lebanese capital.
Nearly 70 people were killed in fighting that flared over the next month.
Lebanon’s army launched a final assault on October 1 to break the militants’ three-month siege of Mbalah town, allowing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to flee.
Lebanon’s state electricity company said on Monday that it had replaced its damaged turbine in northern Lebanon and restored output, restoring electricity to the capital and other areas of the country.
“We were working the last day in real time, and the evening had 21 hours,” said energy company chief engineer Bassam al-Ghazzawi.
However, electricity supply in most areas of Lebanon will only reach about two hours a day, due to damaging repairs, Ghazzawi said.
“We are making it more reliable by way of diversions (of electricity) and using alternatives to replace gear stations in other areas,” he said.
