Aoun Urges State to Crackdown on Gunmen: Arsal Clash Must Not Be Turned into a Factional Issue

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Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun condemned on Tuesday the Arsal clash, saying that it has demonstrated that the Lebanese people have become embroiled in the Syrian conflict.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “The Arsal clash should not be turned into a factional issue.”

He also urged the state to crackdown on gunmen, while highlighting Arsal municipality head Ali Hujairi's statements that he controls some 100 kilometers of the Lebanese-Syrian border.

“The clash is the result of the ongoing failure to impose security in the area,” remarked Aoun.

“The state must regain its sovereignty and apprehend the gunmen,” he demanded.

“We no longer want to hear talk of disassociating Lebanon” from regional issues because this policy has failed, continued the lawmaker.

He also offered his condolences to the families of the officers who were killed during Friday's clash.

“The army belongs to all citizens,” he stressed.

“How many more of these clashes will take place?” he wondered, while saying that some politicians and clerics are accomplices to the criminals.

“The resistance has never killed a soldier and none of its members ever directed their weapons against the army,” Aoun added.

“Resistance groups differ from terrorist ones in that they do not employ sectarian rhetoric or kill based on the victim's identity,” he noted.

Two officers, Pierre Bashaalani and Ibrahim Zahraman, were killed in clashes in the Bekaa town of Arsal as the army was seeking to apprehend a wanted suspect, Khaled Hmayyed, who was also killed in the incident.

Timeline
  • 05 February 2013, 17:14

    Aoun: I do not think that the Akkar and Tripoli MPs who commented on the Arsal clash represent the whole of Lebanon.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:09

    Aoun: We have never heard sectarian statements uttered by resistance officials similar to those uttered by clerics from Arsal.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:09

    Aoun: The resistance's arms did not intervene in various Bekaa incidents, such as the crackdown on the growing of cannabis crops.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:07

    Aoun: The resistance's arms did not kill any soldier in the past or present.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:06

    Aoun: We hope that the Arsal incident will not be exploited for sectarian reasons because the crime does not have a sectarian identity.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:04

    Aoun: The army belongs to the whole of Lebanon.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:04

    Aoun: We no longer want to hear the word "disassociation" because it has not been applied.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:03

    Aoun: The Arsal crime is a product of the abandonment of the region. The state must regain its authority in the area and apprehend the gunmen.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:02

    Aoun: We have warned against failing to adhere to the state's policy of disassociation.

  • 05 February 2013, 17:01

    FPM leader MP Michel Aoun after Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the victims of the Arsal clash.

Comments 24
Thumb LEBhasNOhope 05 February 2013, 17:14

Here comes a pathetic attempt at PR to not take responsiblity for the murder of our true heros who risk their lives for us. Anyone with any self respect or dignity would state that the army needs to be the strongest force in the country. I don't know about the rest of you but I am so sick and tired of the ridiculous rhetoric on why it's ok to have ONE group have arms outside the state and be stronger than the state and the rest of the country don't. ALL ARMS need to be under state control. EVERYONE has the duty and obligation as a Lebanese to support our army.

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 05 February 2013, 18:09

FT - m14 is totally against militias no matter who they belong to. However, it is difficult to tell the sunnis not to organize after the storming of beirut, the continual harrasment of their neighborhoods and the night of the lack shirts. The position of m14 and especially al-mustaqbal is that lebanon may need the resistance. However, they should operate within strict confines of the lebanese army and that the decision of war and peace is that of the lebanese state. This, the hizb refuses since it takes its queue (or orders) from Qom (iran) and not from the lebanese government.

Thumb LEBhasNOhope 05 February 2013, 18:26

Flamer- stop lying! M14 are trying to bring ALL ARMS under state control. They are NOT stating that others should be armed. M14 is stating that people are arming themselves because they fear hizb's arms and it needs to stop. They condem it and are trying to curb it by clearly and unequivacly stating that ALL ARMS MUST BE UNDER STATE CONTROL.
BTW- They have reached out to M8 to ensure the army is above all, and upgraded, our borders demarcated so that hezb issue is resolved in the most peaceful manner. M8 is the one refusing ALL OF THAT! I honestly don't know how you could even attempt to claim otherwise!

Thumb bigsami 05 February 2013, 19:33

Farsi BSThrower full fledged diarrhea running at full force. Idiot!

Thumb LEBhasNOhope 06 February 2013, 18:14

FLamer you are pathetic! when M14 won the government, did they not build a national unity governemnet? when M8 won, did they not form a one sided government? as for calling people sissies for leaving the country after they are threatend and excuted by M8 terrorists who plant bombs and kill them along with inocent people shows how the kind of character you have.
As for your post- we all know the integrety of tayyar and ounist. we all know about their photoshping skills. we all know about their tape tampering skills. NO ONE TAKES THEM SERIOUSLY ANYMORE! so you tell me based on past reputation and experience who is lying? Only an absolute MORON could try and convince anyone that M14 does not want all arms under the state when that is ALL THEY PREACH! your an idiot on your best day!

Default-user-icon myname (Guest) 05 February 2013, 17:15

Aoun: The resistance's arms did not kill any soldier in the past or present. who killed then the lebanese pilot?????? ghosts? What an effing idiot!

Missing samiam 05 February 2013, 17:23

"Aoun: The resistance's arms did not kill any soldier in the past or present."

and the army helicopter that they shot down was occupied by whom?

Lies have become old general--the truth is more useful.

Thumb geha 05 February 2013, 17:24

the resistance arms did not kill any soldier in the past or present
what is he talking about? what about samer hanna? what about the previous incidents where soldiers were injured and killed?
no memory, that means he is senile.

Missing samiam 05 February 2013, 18:12

and yet your friendly neighborhood general claims that the arms by HA have NEVER killed any soldier and this was the only one that HA admitted to and probably not the the only one.

did he forget or did he hope his minions forgot?

Missing peace 05 February 2013, 20:30

samiam: he kept repeating for years that hezbollah was a terrorist group... now that they are his pimps he just shut up and cash the dollars....

Missing samiam 06 February 2013, 11:55

FT--I know you are brainwashed, but not a complete idiot (I hope)--Aoun's statement is "The resistance's arms did not kill any soldier in the past or present."

What brought down the helicopter--if it isn't a rock or a bird, my very educated guess is that it was brought down by ARMS. It was a Lebanese Army helicopter and was shot down by HA in LEBANON. PERIOD, END OF STORY. Whether the fire was friendly or not (it wasn't), the fact remains the HA's arms brought down the helicopter and no matter how you try to spin GMA's remarks, he lied and misrepresented the truth.

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 05 February 2013, 17:57

"Aoun: We no longer want to hear the word "disassociation" because it has not been applied." - and here it goes! Who benefits most of the Arsal incident? The Syrian regime! We need an independent Judicial investigation. Anything less is not acceptable.

Default-user-icon joe (Guest) 05 February 2013, 18:25

how about SAMER HANNA ?? did you forget about him?

Default-user-icon Pisco (Guest) 05 February 2013, 18:26

The state must regain its sovereignty and apprehend the gunmen,” he demanded

I am wondering when did the state gain and lost sovereignty to regain now!!!

The state will be sovereign only once all weapons are under its control.

Default-user-icon Majd (Guest) 05 February 2013, 18:51

Funny he's just gone against everything he said about the so called "Resistance" between 1990 and 2005. The senile coward also forgot that the so called "Resistance" acted like every other militia during the war, kidnapped based on identity and used it's arm to kill other Lebanese and members the Lebanese Army.

Missing allouchi 05 February 2013, 19:15

Aoun is so delusional..z general should take his hizb medical fix...who follows such a lunitic?

Missing peace 05 February 2013, 20:29

look at bozo once again trying to blame others to incite hatred among lebanese... he is deliberately provoking the others to get a reaction so after he can say "see! i was right! see how they are!"
why doesn t bozo say that hezbi were also involved? LOL....

Thumb andre.jabbour 05 February 2013, 21:28

Aoun is turning his coat just like Putin turned his coat on Bashar. The vast majority of gunmen in Lebanon are hizballahi.

Missing samiam 06 February 2013, 00:05

and the minion speaks again. He may have a 3rd grade education but he has a doctorate in indoctrination.

Default-user-icon The Truth (Guest) 06 February 2013, 01:19

Why is Huzb Allah allowed to have their own territory off limits to the Lebanese military or authorities but when this is done by someone else it is a tragedy to Aoun? Either end all security zones or shut up about it.

Missing Cyanide 06 February 2013, 01:39

He is %100 right this time

Missing helicopter 06 February 2013, 03:53

The sad thing is your comment reflects reality, at least you are honest stargate. Hence the reason why Lebanon is in such a condition. The boot of the resistance is on the head of the Lebanese State. May the resistance fall so Lebanon can rise.

Missing cedars 06 February 2013, 05:45

Resistance in Hungarian playing an important role to dmarc Sheb3a Farms. Who are we joking that Hizbollah same as those fanatics or Palestinians will never lay their weapons because their servant is made outside of Lebanon.

Thumb beiruti 06 February 2013, 16:52

So Aoun wants to "crackdown on gunmen" now does he? Such statements as these are only further evidence of the delusional world in which this man lives where he is surrounded by bootlickers and his mental disease is allowed to fester to the point that he says these things while boasting of his alliance with Hezbollah, the fountainhead of gunmen running about in Lebanon, and saying that his support of Hezbollah supports the sovereignty of the State. Only someone divorced from reality can make such statements and only people divorced from reality would say, "Aish ya generale!" when he says such things.