Nasrallah: Hizbullah, Syrian Army Committed to Negotiating with IS on Captive Lebanese Troops
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced Thursday that his group and the Syrian army are committed to negotiating over the captive Lebanese troops in any talks with the jihadist Islamic State group that is currently facing offensives on both sides of the Lebanese-Syrian border.
“The Syrian army and Hizbullah have committed themselves to have the issue of the captive troops as the first item in any negotiations with IS. We are not acting as if there are two fronts but rather only one, contrary to some in Lebanon,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech on the latest developments.
“The Lebanese Army Command and the families of the servicemen should be reassured that we won't accept to overlook the case of the troops,” he added.
He noted that the Syrian leadership “will contribute positively to the success of any agreement with IS, but it wants a request for public coordination” from the Lebanese state.
“Hizbullah fights for the Lebanese and Syrians, because we believe that the battle cannot be segregated or partitioned,” Nasrallah pointed out.
As for the developments on the ground, Nasrallah revealed that Hizbullah liberated 20 square kilometers of Lebanese territory from IS' hands at the beginning of the Lebanese army's Operation Dawn of the Outskirts.
Lauding the Lebanese army's ongoing offensive against the militants, Nasrallah said the military “did a delicate and professional job over the past few days with the least casualty toll and material losses.”
“Over 270 square kilometers have been liberated on the Syrian side of the border and only 40 square kilometers remain in IS' hands,” he added.
Nasrallah also pointed out that “the militants are very confused and are seeking any settlement and this is intelligence information.”
“But IS' leadership is not concerned with the exit of its fighters from the region and it wants them to be killed, and this is also intelligence information,” he added.
“We will have a new victory and liberation day and a new confirmation of the (army-people-resistance) golden equation,” Nasrallah went on to say.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/234519 |