Mustaqbal Suggests 'Calling Up Reserves, Seeking UNIFIL Help' to Control Border

W460

Al-Mustaqbal Movement warned Tuesday against resorting to autonomous security in the wake of the unprecedented suicide attacks in the eastern town of al-Qaa, suggesting a call-up of army reserves or seeking the assistance of U.N. forces if necessary.

“This wave of terrorist crimes that hit the town of al-Qaa and its residents comes after a terrorist operation that targeted the Jordanian border and it is a new indication that Lebanon's security has become a target for this armed terrorist group in the region and its suspicious affiliations,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

“The Lebanese people must pay attention to this impending danger and must quickly seek to fend it off and confront it without allowing it to grow or spread,” it added.

Mustaqbal however cautioned against “all the autonomous security projects that have proved futile,” calling on the Lebanese to “cling to national unity and the Muslim-Christian coexistence formula.”

It also called for “electing a president and abiding by the constitution and the Taef Accord.”

“If the developments require further extraordinary measures from the government, the Lebanese Army can call up a part of its reserves to assist its national mission,” Mustaqbal suggested.

“Moreover, the bloc calls on the Lebanese government to ask the U.N., through the Security Council, to secure UNIFIL forces support for the Lebanese Army along the entire Lebanese border, in line with Articles 11, 12 and 14 of Resolution 1701 (2006),” it added.

Turning to Hizbullah's involvement in the conflict in neighboring Syria, Mustaqbal described it as a “main weakness in the Lebanese entity and one of the main excuses that are being used by the terrorist groups to attack Lebanon.”

Four suicide bombings rocked the eastern border town of al-Qaa on Monday evening, injuring eight people, only hours after four suicide bombers killed five people and wounded 15 others in the town before dawn.

Three suicide bombers riding motorcycles blew themselves up in the evening in the center of the predominantly Christian town. In the pre-dawn attack, five people were killed and fifteen others were wounded when four suicide bombers targeted the town.

Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrians, a huge burden for the country of four million people. Several Lebanese politicians have warned about the inability of the country to bear this burden and had already called for the closure of borders after incidents.

Al-Qaa is one of several border posts separating Lebanon and war-torn Syria and is predominantly Christian although one district, Masharii al-Qaa, is mainly Sunni Muslim and home to a large number of Syrian refugees.

Suicide blasts in the area have typically targeted checkpoints or military installations and rarely include more than one attacker.

In August 2014, the army clashed with the Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, in the border town of Arsal.

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