Security Meeting at Baabda Expresses Solidarity with Army, Urges it to Arrest Gunmen
A statement issued on Monday after a security meeting presided by President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace voiced solidarity with the military institution and called on the army to arrest those who assault it.
The statement urged the army to take all the necessary measures too confront the gunmen until it ends all armed presence in the southern city of Sidon.
The attendees called on the army to evacuate civilians from the areas of clashes and to maintain their safety.
The security meeting was held in presence of Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and several ministers in his cabinet and security leaders.
At least twelve Lebanese soldiers were killed in less than 24 hours in clashes with supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir in the Sidon suburb of Abra.
Abra is home to a mosque, Bilal bin Rabah, where Asir leads the main weekly prayers on Fridays. The sheikh believes Hizbullah uses apartments in Abra to keep him under surveillance.
He also says the Lebanese army has provided cover to Hizbullah, whose members are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops against rebels.
Asir was unknown until around two years ago, when he gained prominence for his opposition to Hizbullah and its ally Assad.
The military urged political leaders in Sidon to choose sides and to stand either alongside the army, or with "those who promote strife and the killing of troops".
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