Hizbullah 'Backs Aoun in Cabinet and the Street'

Sources close to Hizbullah have stressed that the party backs all of the moves taken by its ally Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun inside and outside the cabinet.

Hizbullah “supports all of Aoun's moves inside the government and even on the streets,” the sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Thursday.

“We are holding onto our stance regarding our ally,” said the sources although Hizbullah supporters did not participate in street protests ordered by Aoun.

FPM supporters resorted to the streets on Wednesday to protest Defense Minister Samir Moqbel's decision to extend the terms of top military officials and the alleged marginalization of Christian rights.

The FPM rejects the extensions and instead calls for the appointment of new officials because Aoun wants his son-in-law Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz to become army chief.

Aoun has also been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Tammam Salam over the cabinet's working mechanism which was adopted after the end of the tenure of President Michel Suleiman in May 2014.

Aoun wants to introduce amendments to the government’s working process, saying Salam is infringing on the rights of the Christian president in his absence.

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