Slain Troops' Families Urge Referring Cases to Judicial Council, Threaten Escalation

W460

The families of troops killed between the years 2012 and 2017 in the border towns of Arsal and Ras Baalbek on Wednesday urged the government to refer the investigation cases to the Judicial Council, Lebanon's highest national security court, and to launch an immediate probe.

The lawyers of the families warned that “they might carry out escalatory steps if the government doesn't respond to their demands.”

The father of slain Captain Ahmed Tabikh meanwhile called for “the execution of Bilal and Omar Miqati and others,” referring to detained Islamic State militants accused of executing a number of soldiers.

“We will not accept the presence of any red lines seeking to obstruct the probe for anyone's favor,” the father added.

He also called for the prosecution of “anyone who erred or incited against the army, colluded with the terrorists or paid money to buy arms, ammunition and explosives for the gangs, as well as anyone who supplied them with food, stolen cars or construction material for building military posts, trenches and barricades.”

President Michel Aoun had recently ordered a probe into the 2014 kidnap and subsequent execution of a number of troops and policeman at the hands of the extremist Islamic State and al-Nusra Front groups.

The move came after the army ousted the IS group from the eastern border region and after a Hizbullah-led deal under which Lebanon recovered the bodies of ten executed troops.

Some parties have accused ex-PM Tammam Salam and former army chief General Jean Qahwaji of misconduct during the army's 2014 battle against jihadists.

Salam, Qahwaji and al-Mustaqbal Movement have slammed the accusations, arguing that a decision to agree to a ceasefire with the militants was necessary to avoid bloodshed in the town of Arsal and the stoking of sectarian tensions.

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