Araji: Military Institution the Sole Side Authorized to Defend Border

MP Assem Araji stressed on Friday that the Lebanese army is the sole side authorized to defend the country's border.

“The army is the sole side authorized to confront armed groups and defend the border” said Araji, adding that “the military institution enjoys full (people's) support in order to preserve the security in Arsal and the safety of the displaced,” said Araji in an interview to VDL (93.3).

Araji's comments came in line with a Hizbullah military operation aimed to “eliminate” militants entrenched in the outskirts of Arsal.

He voiced fears that the fighting could trigger a “new wave of displacements into the Central Bekaa Valley.”

Hizbullah launched a major ground offensive on Friday aimed at ending the years-long presence of hundreds of militants in a border area between Syria and Lebanon.

The State-run National News Agency said that Syrian warplanes carried out around 15 air raids on militants posts early on Friday.

The offensive was widely expected after negotiations with militants to leave the area failed over the past days.

NNA said the Lebanese army shelled an area on the border to prevent a group of militants from entering the Arsal area.

There will be concerns about civilian casualties if the militants infiltrate Arsal, which is home to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who fled civil war in their country.