Ghosn Warns Against Attempts to 'Finish Off' Army after Latest Attacks

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn has warned that extremists are targeting the military in an attempt to finish it off, urging rival parties to deal with it as an institution that works for all the Lebanese and does not target certain sects.

The attacks on the military “prove that some extremist groups have taken a decision to hit the Lebanese army to thwart its moves and then finish it off after it became a source of trouble for them and an obstacle to their movements,” Ghosn told As Safir daily in remarks published on Friday.

“They only have the objective to kill and tamper with security and stability,” he said.

But the assaults proved that all the Lebanese back the military “except for a few who haven't yet become aware of the dangers confronting the nation.”

“There is a firm decision to (fight) terrorism … the army is working and will continue to eradicate it no matter how much sacrifices it makes,” Ghosn told As Safir.

“It will also not be dragged behind the suspicious political rhetoric that claims the army is targeting a certain party or sect,” he said.

There were near-simultaneous attacks on the army in the southern city of Sidon on Sunday night.

On Thursday, army commandos searched caves and valleys in and around Sidon, and arrested five suspects over the attacks that left a sergeant dead and several soldiers wounded.

“The army is for all of Lebanon,” Ghosn said, warning against dragging it to “political bazaars.”

Asked about the current deadlock in the cabinet formation process, the caretaker defense minister backed a proposal to form a government in which the March 8 and 14 alliances would get nine ministers each and centrists six.

“There is no excuse to reject the 9-9-6 formula,” he said, referring to March 14, which is calling for a neutral cabinet.

“The current challenges should compel us to form a strong government that works to lift the country from its crises,” Ghosn added.