Bassil: Terror Using Displacement as Cover, State Must Take Firm Decision
Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned Sunday that “terrorism is using displacement as a cover,” several days after the Lebanese army cracked down on Syrian refugee encampments near the town of Arsal in search of terror suspects, explosives and weapons.
“Terrorism is using displacement as a cover for its acts of terror, that's why we must confront the refugee crisis bravely and through a firm decision from the Lebanese state,” Bassil said during a visit to the southern Jezzine region.
The refugees' “return to Syria must take place before the political solution and their return is now possible to a lot of safe areas inside Syria,” Bassil added.
The Lebanese army has dismissed allegations of abuse against hundreds of Syrian detainees in a security sweep at a refugee settlement near Arsal, saying the mass detentions were necessary to combat terrorism. A military official told The Associated Press that the detention of 355 Syrians "is not a directed aggression against anyone," and that not all would be charged with terrorism.
Five suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday during military raids in two refugee settlements in Arsal, near the border with Syria. One of them detonated his payload among a Syrian refugee family, killing a girl. Another wounded three soldiers, leaving two of them in critical condition, the official said. During the early Friday raid attackers also tossed explosives at the troops, wounding four.
The official said the raids on the two settlements in Arsal came after tips about the presence of explosives and a plot to carry out attacks in Lebanon.
Lebanon, of 4.5 million people, has over 1 million registered Syrian refugees.
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