Salam from Yarze: Security Plans Yielded Security, We Defeated Strife through Military

Prime Minister Tammam Salam hailed on Thursday the role of the military institution in achieving stability and security in Lebanon, while saluting its ongoing efforts to protect the country against foreign threats.

He said: “The security plans have yielded stability in Lebanon and we succeeded in defeating strife through the military.”

He made his remarks from the Defense Ministry in Yarze where he met with Minister Samir Moqbel, Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, and other military officials.

“We are facing several challenges and have been doing so for years,” added the premier.

“Our success is the product of great efforts. Our enemy has devised terrorist plots against us, but we have thwarted them,” he declared.

“We succeeded in uprooting all plots to create strife among us,” stated Salam, while highlighting that Lebanon has faced and still faces the threat of Israel.

“It has never relented in plotting against us,” he said of the Jewish state.

Addressing the situation along Lebanon's eastern border, Salam remarked: “The army is combating threats along the border with all possible means.”

“It knows how to act on the ground and how to defend the nation,” he stressed.

Moreover, the prime minister emphasized: “We are seeking to supply the military with modern weapons to help it protect the border.”

“The atmosphere within the military institution itself contributed to its success, whereby it has not been tainted by sectarianism,” he explained.

“I will not spare any effort to support the army,” he added.

Lebanon's eastern borders have in recent months been facing the threat of extremists from Syria.

In the past few weeks, clashes have erupted between Hizbullah fighters and Syrian regime forces in al-Qalamoun against extremist groups.

There have been growing concerns that the jihadists would spill over into Lebanon, particularly the northeastern border town of Arsal, where they took hostage a number of Lebanese soldiers and policemen when they overran the town in August 2014.

M.T.

G.K.