Govt. Calls on Higher Defense Council to Convene to Address Ghosn’s Qaida Claims

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq stated on Wednesday that Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn has received information from security authorities on the infiltration of al-Qaida members of the Bekaa town of Arsal and their entry into Syria, adding that the government urged the security forces and Lebanese army to properly monitor the border with Syria.

He said after a cabinet session: “The government called on the Higher Defense Council to convene in order to address the minister’s allegations.”

He revealed that Ghosn had presented the information he has obtained on the matter and presented them at cabinet, deeming the debate created over his claims as politically motivated.

The opposition had criticized the defense minister’s Qaida claims seeing as they came shortly before twin bombings in the Syrian capital Damascus, which the Syrian regime blamed on the terrorist group.

The opposition consequently warned of attempts to involve Lebanon in the Syrian crisis.

Mustaqbal bloc MP Moeen al-Merhebi said of Ghosn in a statement on Wednesday: “The minister of defense of the Syrian regime is turning a deaf ear to our calls to deploy the army along the border to defend the Lebanese people.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed during the cabinet session the need for Lebanon to refrain from meddling in the affairs of Arab countries.

“Lebanon’s position will prevent it from incurring any of the repercussions of the regional changes,” he added.