Ghosn: When Needed, Army Will Resort to Force in Order to Preserve Security

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn warned on Friday that some sides “have awakened strife” in Lebanon given the recent developments in the country.

He stressed in a statement: “The army will not stand idly by and it will resort to force when needed in order to preserve internal security and stability.”

He explained that the “recent unrest and the remarks of incitement against the army are aimed at harming its morale in order to drag Lebanon towards strife.”

he stressed.

“The major duties the army is performing throughout Lebanon and its wise handling of developments is not a sign of weakness,” he continued.

“The military institution's actions stem from its keenness on higher national interests and civil peace,” said the minister.

Ghosn therefore called against the employment of the media and political rhetoric to divide the people, saying that they should be used to unite them.

“Citizens who are loyal to Lebanon should realize the fragility of the current phase Lebanon is passing through and ignore the calls for strife and division,” he stated.

Earlier on Friday, Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stated that the army “will not tolerate attempts to undermine the security and stability of the Lebanese.”

He added that the military will not tolerate any security violations, stressing that it will confront any attempts to destabilize the country.

The army, the presidential guards and security forces were on Friday conducting a search operation in the town of Araya in Baabda district where a strong blast was heard overnight, informed sources told Naharnet, as two rocket launch pads were found in Kesrouan district.

The mysterious blast that reverberated across several districts at around 12:43 am could have been caused by a rocket launch, the sources said.

The information they provided to Naharnet came as the launch pads with one of them a 122mm Grad rocket installed on it were discovered in the town of Ballouneh in Kesrouan.