Suleiman in Surprise Visit to Arsal: Assailants behind Attacks Will Be Arrested Sooner or Later
President Michel Suleiman stressed on Wednesday that the time will come when assailants who attacked the army will be arrested.
He said: “The assailants behind these terrorist attacks will be arrested an punished sooner or later.”
He made his remarks during a surprise visit to the the northeastern town of Arsal after three soldiers were killed by unidentified gunmen in the area, stressing that the army is the only guarantee for Lebanon's safety.
“The Army Command has the complete support to implement its plans,” he added.
“Some sides are attempting to exploit the army as a form of political cover and they are trying to fragment the institution to acquire protection for a certain sect within it,” stated Suleiman.
“No more martyrs will fall should the army remain inactive, but it will come at the price of the eruption of a civil war in Lebanon,” he declared.
“We will continue our duties and we will continue to withstand the blows against us for the sake of our people and nation,” said the president.
Addressing officials who are criticizing the army, he remarked: “Their only concern is gaining votes for the parliamentary elections.”
“The developments in Syria pain us, but we have to defend ourselves and our nation,” he added.
“We must protect our country and prevent the neighboring crisis from spreading to us,” he demanded.
Suleiman made the trip aboard a military helicopter accompanied by Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji and state commissioner to the military court Judge Saqr Saqr who has tasked the army intelligence and military police with carrying out a preliminary investigation into the attack.
The helicopter landed in the Ras Baalbek barracks of a military unit tasked with protecting the border. The president then headed in a motorcade to Arsal.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint in the northern entrance to Arsal in the area of Wadi Hmeid at dawn Tuesday, killing the three soldiers of the army’s 6th brigade.
Sources have said that the gunmen, who were in a black humvee, sped to the Syrian territories after the assault.
March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid was among the first officials to react to Suleiman's visit, describing it as “a courageous act.”
“We hope that it would be productive in terms of unveiling the circumstances of the attack,” he said on twitter.
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