Aoun says Israeli attacks on army contradict with calls for it to extend state authority
President Joseph Aoun made two phone calls Tuesday to Minister of National Defense Michel Menassa and Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, offering his condolences for the death of three soldiers in the South as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the Zibdine-Nabatieh road.
Aoun strongly condemned the targeting of the soldiers, "coinciding with the ongoing attacks that have also claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent women, men, and children," considering these acts "a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law."
Aoun affirmed that targeting the military institution, which plays a "unifying national role in protecting stability and preserving sovereignty," blatantly contradicts "the calls from Lebanon and the international community to empower the army to extend state authority over all Lebanese territory and to confine weapons to the hands of the legitimate armed forces."
Aoun also reiterated Lebanon's commitment to this option, calling for an immediate halt to attacks on villages, towns and their inhabitants, and for an end to attacks on the army, which "remains the last resort for maintaining security and stability in the country."
Source: Naharnet
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