US envoy Tom Barrack has cut his visit to southern Lebanon short, according to the Lebanese government’s official news agency.
The altered trip on Wednesday came amid protests against Washington’s push to disarm Hezbollah, as well as continued outrage over Barrack’s recent derision of journalists in the country.
The National News Agency reported that Barrack was flown by helicopter to a Lebanese army barracks in Marjayoun, near the Israeli border, where troops were deployed in advance of his arrival on Wednesday.
However, scheduled visits to nearby Khiam, a town devastated during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and to the coastal city of Tyre were later cancelled.
The US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment concerning the reported change of plans.
Barrack, who is the US ambassador to Turkiye and also serves as Washington’s special envoy for Syria, has faced growing outrage in Lebanon since Tuesday, when he told journalists to “act civilised” as they peppered him with questions following a meeting with President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.
The US envoy further said he would stop taking questions if the situation “starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic”, while appearing to compare the exchange to the wider unrest in the Middle East.
Critics accused the diplomat of displaying a colonial mentality, with the Lebanese presidency later expressing regret for the comments.
Protests in southern Lebanon
Barrack also said on Tuesday that Lebanon’s government will present a Hezbollah disarmament plan in the coming days.
That came after Lebanon’s cabinet last month instructed the army to prepare a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, a decision taken under heavy US pressure and amid threats by Israel of further military escalation.
The push has also led to unrest, particularly in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah maintains support. Early on Wednesday, images showed protesters waving Hezbollah flags, carrying pictures of slain fighters and standing near anti-US slogans scrawled on the road in Khiam.
One message in Arabic read: “America is the great Satan”. Another in English said: “Barak [sic] is animal.”
Protests were also reported in Tyre, where Bilal Kashmar, an official from the union of southern municipalities, said that dozens gathered to oppose Barrack’s expected arrival and to denounce Washington’s “biased policies”.
Fighting between Israel and Lebanon escalated in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Gaza, and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, but Israel has continued near-daily strikes in Lebanon, in violation of the deal. Israel has accused Hezbollah and Lebanon’s governments of failing to comply with the provisions of the agreements.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected any plans to disarm the group, saying Israel must first withdraw fully from Lebanese territory and stop its continuing attacks before any discussion on laying down weapons can begin.
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