Qahwaji Says Army's 'Sacred' Role is Immune to Political Disputes
Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji said on Wednesday that the differences among the country's rival leaders would not stop the military from defending Lebanon, vowing to continue the battle against terrorists.
“The political disputes will not thwart the army's sacred duties in defending Lebanon,” he said in a speech at the Beirut Bar Association.
“The army will not allow terrorism to lay foot in Lebanon,” he added.
Qahwaji spoke on the occasion of the National Day of the Lebanese Army's Martyrs.
The army commander said in another speech late Tuesday that the military would stop militants from dragging strife to Lebanon.
“The army is committed to confronting terrorism with all its strength and decisiveness,” he stated at the opening of a regional conference in Beirut.
The military will “stop terrorists form dragging strife to the nation and is committed to preserving Lebanon’s message of coexistence no matter how much sacrifices it makes,” he said.
Qahwaji lauded the “close military cooperation with friendly countries and the international community's confidence in the role of the military institution.”
He said the army was able to neutralize the capabilities of terrorist groups along the country’s eastern border.
Qahwaji added that troops have also “dismantled most terrorist cells” in Lebanon.
Militants from neighboring Syria briefly seized control of the northeastern border town of Arsal in August last year before withdrawing with more than two dozen Lebanese policemen and soldiers as hostages.
The army has clashed with the gunmen and their Lebanese supporters in the area and other regions several times since then.
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