Saniora Urges Hizbullah to Withdraw its 'Militia' from Syria
Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora has called on Hizbullah to withdraw its “militia” form Syria and urged the deployment of the Lebanese army along Lebanon's border.
During a speech at a graduation ceremony held in the southern city of Sidon on Thursday night, Saniora said: “Hizbullah should pull out its militia from Syria and return the young men of the Bekaa and the South to their homes, villages, businesses and families.”
The former premier rejected turning Hizbullah's fighters into the fuel of what he called the “Islamic strife.”
Hizbullah has been instrumental in helping Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces to seize the town of Qusayr that lies around 10 kilometers form Lebanon’s northeastern border.
Hizbullah has controlled Qusayr and is preparing for other attacks in Syria, Saniora said. “This reveals the intensity of its involvement” in the more than two-year-old conflict.
“The meddling by an armed Lebanese organization has become part of the Iranian military axis in the region and a tool in the hand of a regime that is killing its people and destroying its country,” he added.
Saniora called for the deployment of the army on the northern and eastern borders with Syria and prevent the smuggling of arms and infiltration of gunmen from both sides of the boundary.
He said that the assistance of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon should be sought in that regard.
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