Mashnouq Says Plan to Aid Village of Tufail to Kick Off Tuesday

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said that a plan will kick off on Tuesday to evacuate people who are injured from the remote border village of al-Tufail and to send humanitarian aid to the residents.

“Gunmen will not be allowed to enter Lebanon... We will only open a safe passage for the residents of the town,” Mashnouq said in a press conference held on Monday at his office at the interior ministry.

He pointed out that the town is being surrounded by Syrian regime troops, rebels affiliated with the opposition and fighters from Hizbullah.

Mashnouq said that seeing as the town is isolated, it can not be reached from Lebanon, but must be entered from Syria.

“We had three ways to aid the town either by contacting the Syrian regime or opposition or by seeking Hizbullah's help,” he pointed out.

Mashnouq warned that if “Lebanese security forces were assaulted while trying to enter the village, then the Lebanese state will file a complaint to the U.N.”

“We aim at safeguarding the residents of Tufail away from any political dispute. It's a mere humanitarian matter,” the minister continued.

“Priority is to save the people of Tufail,” he noted.

Mashnouq said that if the state's endeavors failed then the cabinet will seek the help of the international community.

On Saturday, Mashnouq chaired a security meeting in the ministry of interior in the presence of security officials and Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa.

The security meeting was followed by talks between Mashnouq, Safa and General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim.

Tufail is located at the end of the eastern mountain belt's plains, in an area that is 24 kilometers inside Syrian territories. It is surrounded by Syrian lands to its north, east and south, and by the Lebanese villages of Ham, Maarboun and Brital to its west.

There are no roads that link the town to Lebanese territories.

More than 5,000 Lebanese nationals reside in the town, Christians and Muslims, and among them there are around 25 soldiers in the army.

President Michel Suleiman called during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to study all possible means that would enable helping the town's residents escape and take refuge in safe regions inside Lebanon.