Hajjar on behalf of Aoun: Road safety is a 'top priority'

BEIRUT — Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar said, in a speech delivered on behalf of President Joseph Aoun, that road safety "remains a top priority," the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday.

Speaking at a conference on road safety, titled “Toward a Comprehensive National Strategy through Multi-Sector Partnership,” Hajjar said: "Despite the difficult period our beloved country is going through, and despite limited resources, road safety and the safety of Lebanese citizens remain top priorities."

He called on the Lebanese to be "active partners with the state in this effort — starting with self-accountability — and be good examples in a time when reform is most needed.”

Lebanon’s roads are a notorious site of various tragedies, devastating accidents, collapsing infrastructure, political negligence and societal disorder. In 2024 alone, 443 people were killed in road accidents.

Hajjar also highlighted the Lebanese government's efforts to extend its authority over all of Lebanon, "to strengthen confidence in the country both domestically and abroad."

“In this context, the Lebanese Army — along with all other security agencies — is working to assert full control over every inch of Lebanese land," he added. "The liberation of our occupied territory in the South and the cessation of repeated Israeli aggressions are national priorities that are not open to compromise."

Despite a cease-fire agreement reached in November 2024, Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue daily as Israel still occupies several areas in the South.