Moussawi: If Arsal is Occupied, what is the Plan to Liberate it?
Hizbullah MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi condemned the state's inaction in tackling the presence of al-Nusra Front extremists in the northeastern border region of Arsal, vowing that the party will “pursue the criminals wherever they are," reported the National News Agency on Saturday.
He said: “We ask the interior minister, government, and all state institutions what they plan to do now that they have acknowledged that Arsal is being occupied?”
“Seeing as Arsal is occupied, then the state should devise a plan to liberate it and its people,” he urged.
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq had acknowledged on Thursday that the Arsal region is indeed “occupied” by gunmen from Syria.
He stressed that the army has not taken any action over the situation “to avoid dragging Lebanon into the Syrian conflict.”
Moussawi continued by hailing the release of the 16 servicemen who were being held hostage by the al-Nusra Front, noting however how “some sides sought to acquit these takfiri and terrorist groups of their crimes to employ them for political purposes.”
“We should therefore protest against all attempts to acquit these groups,” the lawmaker added.
Al-Nusra Front should be “uprooted from Lebanese soil because it violates Lebanon's diversity,” he demanded.
“Whoever tries to incorporate this group within Lebanon’s political fabric is insulting this identity,” he declared.
“We should therefore stand united to eliminate these terrorist and takfiri groups from Lebanon,” Moussawi said.
“This can only be achieved through a united stance on these groups,” he stated.
The servicemen were released on Tuesday through a Qatari-sponsored deal that included a prisoner swap that saw the release of inmates from Lebanese and Syrian jails.
Footage of the exchange showed images of armed Nusra Front members freely roaming the Lebanese area of Arsal.
Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday condemned such images, saying that the country's sovereignty has been violated.
Some 30 servicemen were abducted in the wake of clashes with the Nusra Front and Islamic State group in August 2014.
The Islamic State continues to hold nine hostages.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/196182 |