Mustaqbal Calls for Protecting Arsal from Syrian Attacks, 'Hizbullah Practices'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday called on the army and security forces to “protect Arsal from the Syrian regime's attacks and the practices of Hizbullah's members.”

The bloc accused members of Hizbullah of “harassing the town's residents,” urging security forces to put an end to what it described as a “siege” of Arsal.

Demonstrators blocked several key roads throughout the country on Tuesday to protest the continued closure of the only route leading from Arsal by residents of neighboring al-Labweh.

On Saturday, al-Labweh residents blocked the road leading to and from Arsal in the wake of a deadly rocket attack on their town. They said that the rockets were fired by gunmen operating in Arsal's outskirts.

The road was reopened on Sunday afternoon at the request of the family of the slain young man before it was blocked again late Sunday in the wake of a deadly suicide car blast that rocked the nearby town of al-Nabi Othman.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc called on the new cabinet “to quickly make a rapid, constructive and effective initiative to protect the town of Arsal from this enormous influx of Syrian refugees through creating accommodation centers in the town's outskirts.”

Commenting on the new government's policy statement that was adopted Friday, the bloc stressed the importance of what included “in terms of emphasizing on the state's unity and exclusive authority over all issues related to the country's public policies.”

It also praised the statement for “committing to implementing the resolutions of the national dialogue sessions that were held in parliament and at the Baabda Palace and for eliminating the (army-people-resistance) equation.”

The bloc hoped Hizbullah will “abide by the stipulations of the policy statement” instead of “obstructing its implementation and therefore repeating its previous experiences in renouncing agreements and texts it had agreed on.”