Summary The aid pledge comes amid sectarian tension in Lebanon related to war in neighbouring Syria.
BEIRUT (AFP) - Saudi Arabia has pledged $3 billion for the Lebanese army to buy equipment from France, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman announced on Sunday.
The kingdom "decided to provide generous assistance to Lebanon in the form of $3 billion for the Lebanese army to strengthen its capabilities," Sleiman said, adding that it was the largest assistance provided in Lebanon s history.
The aid pledge comes amid mounting sectarian tension in Lebanon related to the war in neighbouring Syria.
Lebanon s powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad s forces against an uprising that many Lebanese Sunnis support.
Saudi Arabia is a leading backer of the rebels battling Assad s regime, which has relied on strong support from Shiite Iran.
Sleiman s announcement comes two days after a bombing that targeted a leading critic of Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, though the Saudi aid pledge did not appear to be directly related.
He said the money would be used to buy weapons from France, pointing to the "historical ties that link it to Lebanon and the depth of the military cooperation between the two countries".
Sleiman did not specify what weapons would be purchased.
Lebanon s armed forces are woefully under-equipped and face multiplying security challenges, underlined by the bomb attack on Friday and rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel on Sunday that prompted return fire from the Jewish state.
The armed forces are responsible for domestic security as well as national defence, and contain members from across Lebanon s multi-sectarian population.
Sleiman visited Saudi Arabia last month, and his announcement came as French President Francois Hollande arrived in the kingdom for talks with King Abdullah.
