Ibrahim: My Role is Technical, Political Row over Refugee File Not My Concern
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said that coordination between the security apparatuses of Lebanon and Syria have never stopped, which made it possible to exchange information about terrorists who crossed the border and hence confront terrroism, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.
Ibrahim said that coordination goes long before the war in Syria in 2011, “there has been no interruption between the General Security and parallel security services in Syria, but it has become more urgent after the outbreak of the war,” Ibrahim told the daily.
“The Syrians have provided us with abundant information about a large number of terrorists who have crossed the border into Lebanon, and thanks to that we succeeded, whether some call name that as normalization or opening channels," he said.
“This coordination is administrative concerned with crossing, and also concerned with security to stop any breach. What is important to us are the results we have reached in the confrontation with terrorism,” added Ibrahim.
Regarding divisions between Lebanese officials over relations with Syria and the repatriation of refugees, he said: “The political row over the refugees file is not my concern, because my work is purely technical. The President entrusted me with the task, and all the other officials were aware of this mandate. No one has ever objected to the security communication channel I have.”
About the “intimidation” practiced by the Syrian regime to prevent its citizens from returning to their hometowns, Ibrahim said: “Recently, we have heard a lot about arrests, executions, etc. I have asked to be provided with evidence on such sensitive data in order to review that with the Syrian authorities,” noting that he personally has not heard about any harassment or imprisonment.
Source: Naharnet
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