Hariri Expresses Firm Support to Army, Rejects Covering Up for Hizbullah Presence in Syria

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri reiterated staunch support to the Lebanese army in its battle against terrorism, rejecting attempts to cover up for Hizbullah's engagement in the fight raging in neighboring country Syria.

“Our support to the army against gunmen who infiltrated (the northeastern border town of) Arsal is steadfast that will not undergo political bids,” Hariri said in a statement issued by his press office on Tuesday.

He pointed out that the army “once again presents a live model for the importance of the Lebanese awareness amid the difficult stage in our history.”

“The army's battle against terrorists is the battle of all the Lebanese who believe in the state and its institutions. We will be a strong political aid for the military despite all skeptics and attempts to meddle with minor sectarian interests.”

The March 14 official hailed the cabinet led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, expressing support to its decision to end “abnormal phenomena undermining the national peace.”

The government on Monday announced after an extraordinary session at the Grand Serail the mobilization of all its political and security agencies in defense of Arsal in the face of the “flagrant aggression,” noting that the only way out of the current confrontation lies in the withdrawal of the “terrorists” from the border town.

Hariri described the sacrifices undertaken by the army and all the Lebanese security forces as having no “political and sectarian division that are tiring the state and civil unity.”

He expressed condolences to the families of the soldiers and civilians killed in Arsal.

The official also denounced that assault against a Muslim Scholars Committee delegation in the Bekaa valley town, considering it an “attempt to increase tension in the country.”

A three-member delegation reportedly sustained gunshot wounds after their convoy came under fire at night in Arsal as they headed to the area to negotiate with gunmen a ceasefire.

A four-day fighting in Arsal, an overwhelmingly Sunni town surrounded by Shiite villages, has left scores of troops killed and injured. Many soldiers are missing.

The clashes erupted Saturday after Syria-based militants made a cross-border raid and overran army positions in the area following the arrest of an Islamist suspect.

Hariri also remarked that “any armed group should not take Hizbullah's intervention in Syria as an alibi to breach Lebanon's sovereignty and to attack the army,” rejecting to cover up the party's intervention in the neighboring country.

He noted the party's steadfast support for Syrian president Bashar Assad in field battles “violates all sovereign principles and the Lebanese national stance.”

Many Hizbullah fighters have recently died in the renewed clashes against Syrian rebels on several fighting fronts in the Syrian al-Qalamoun village, which borders Lebanon.