Riad al-Asaad Accuses Rifaat Eid of 'Conspiring against Lebanese State'

Colonel Riad al-Asaad, chief of the rebel Free Syrian Army, on Friday accused Arab Democratic Party official Rifaat Eid of “conspiring against the Lebanese state and inviting a foreign Arab army to occupy its North.”

“His remarks do not only disparage the Lebanese state’s prestige, but also the country’s dignity and the dignity of every Lebanese citizen, because Eid is neither a political analyst nor a media analyst, but rather the head of a licensed and armed Lebanese party,” said Asaad in a statement.

Eid hinted on Wednesday that calm will not be restored in Tripoli without the return of an “Arab army” to Lebanon, noting that Syria is capable of undertaking such a mission.

“There is no doubt that Eid has the desire to turn the clock back tens of years in Lebanon, as such a call was not voiced before in this manner, not even by those who collaborated with Israel,” said Asaad in his statement.

“We strongly reject such a call and we urge every honorable Lebanese to reject it and to organize civil, legal, political and youth movements across the country to say that all the people of Lebanon will not allow anyone to take them back to the era of war,” the rebel colonel added.

Asaad warned that “this approach reminds us of Rashid al-Solh’s government and the Ain el-Rummaneh bus during the era of the collapse of the nation and the entity, the day when everyone welcomed the entry of civil strife to their country under the pretext of protecting minorities.”

Eid had voiced his remarks in the wake of several days of deadly sectarian clashes in Tripoli that have left more than 10 people dead and over 100 wounded.