Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri held talks Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh with the new head of the ceasefire monitoring committee, U.S. major general Michael Leeney, who was accompanied by the committee’s outgoing head Major General Jasper Jeffers.

President Joseph Aoun has stressed that “the decision of removing arms will be implemented across Lebanon but the priority is for the South.”

Major General Jasper Jeffers, Chairman of the Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, met Wednesday with Lebanese and UNIFIL leadership in Beirut, accompanied by Major General Michael Leeney.

“Major General Leeney is joining the Mechanism to provide a full-time senior U.S. military leader in Beirut to continue the strong relationship between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and U.S. military,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

As informed sources said that there are no motives behind the replacement of the head of the ceasefire committee Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, other sources told Al-Akhbar newspaper that “a lot of criticism inside and outside Lebanon targeted Jeffers’ performance, especially from the French side and the UNIFIL forces, due to his bad role in managing the committee and his obstruction of its work many times.”

The Lebanese Army has so far raided more than 500 Hezbollah posts south and north of the Litani River and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanese governmental sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

President Joseph Aoun traveled Wednesday to the United Arab Emirates for a two-day official visit.

President Joseph Aoun, who met with a U.S. military delegation Wednesday, urged it to pressure Israel to withdraw from areas it still controls in the country and to release Lebanese prisoners.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed Tuesday that “the attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs and the other Israeli attacks represent a violation of the cessation of hostilities arrangements,” adding that “it is necessary to activate the monitoring mechanism to put an end to these attacks.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Tuesday on the United States to help Lebanon achieve stability.

"It is in the interest of the United States for Lebanon to remain a stable and secure country, and therefore it must help Lebanon achieve this goal," Aoun said.

The U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring committee might convene on Thursday after it had suspended its meetings and work following a U.S. decision, informed sources told Al-Akhbar newspaper.