The United States is rerouting USD 72 million of America's assistance to Lebanon to help the country's cash-strapped government boost wages of its soldiers and police officers, the US ambassador said Wednesday.
Washington is a key donor of the Lebanese Army and its 80,000 members, providing over USD 3 billion in military aid since 2006. The announcement Wednesday is the first time the US is allocating funds for wages of security personnel in Lebanon.
Lebanon, a tiny Mediterranean country of 6 million people, is struggling with an unprecedented economic crisis, one that the World Bank says is among the worst worldwide since the 1850s.