By Patricia Zengerle and Maya Gebeily
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's administration approved $230 million for Lebanon's security forces this week as they push to disarm the once powerful armed group Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces.
Democratic U.S. congressional aides said the funds had been released just before Washington's fiscal year ended on September 30. "For a small country like Lebanon, that's really, really significant," one of the aides said on a call with reporters, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment. The funding was released at a time when the Republican president's administration has been slashing many foreign assistance programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer dollars is America First.
The release of the funds appeared to reflect the priority Trump has put on trying to resolve the conflict in Gaza and the wider region.
A conflict between Israel and Lebanon that began a year ago has battered Hezbollah and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the U.S.-backed army on August 5 to devise a plan to ensure that all arms across the country would be in the hands of security forces by the end of the year.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm since the devastating war with Israel. But the Iran-backed group is under pressure to give up its weapons from its rivals in Lebanon and from Washington.
The Lebanese source said the funding would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security in Lebanon so the LAF can focus on other critical missions.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Maya Gebeily in Beruit; Editing by Don Durfee and Bill Berkrot)
