Qahwaji Condemns Arsal Clash, Labeling it 'Premeditated' Crime
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji condemned on Sunday the Arsal clashes, while saluting the two slain officers.
He said in a statement: “We reject any attempt to make light of the gravity of the premeditated crime committed against the army.”
“Those who believe that our combating of terrorism will halt for any local or regional power are mistaken,” he declared.
“We will not accept a political compromise at the expense of the blood of martyrs Pierre Bashaalani and Ibrahim Zahraman,” he added.
“No matter what the cost, the army will not waver in apprehending the criminals, regardless of their identities or affiliations,” Qahwaji stated.
He had earlier met with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn at the Defense Ministry in order to address the Arsal incident.
The army commander later attended Bashaalani's funeral in the Bekaa town of Mrayjat.
Bashaalani and Zahraman were killed in clashes in the Bekaa town of Arsal on Friday as the army was seeking to apprehend a wanted suspect, who was also killed in the unrest.
03 February 2013, 17:57
33
FlameThrower, will that not offend your allegiances?
I'm pretty sure HA is responsible for this? Who else believes they are above the law and security apparatus?
03 February 2013, 19:18
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Who is 'I' when you say I stated? Stop being a coward and come forward. List your name as I do.
04 February 2013, 05:13
20
How do you know that HA has nothing to do with it. Military intelligence has been known to be an m8 stronghold and before that answerable only to syrian intelligence.
03 February 2013, 22:01
11
It is not as simple as you think. This situation can spin out of control fast and reason should be applied. The official story is not the whole story and there are competing versions. No matter which version (if any) is true, there are enough people on all sides believing each. If reason is not exercised, a local incident can become national and if that happens, the army will not be able to control it.
04 February 2013, 02:39
01
canadianadam just please don't say stuff the is ridiculously not true. It makes you sound stupid. Try to contribute in a smart way.
04 February 2013, 07:40
10
we saw how the killers of Samer hanna have been treated with a slap on the hand.
whatever happened in arsal (and it is still a mystery) if the army is going to raise the tension, it will be the major reason for the civil war to come.
04 February 2013, 14:31
00
I understand from one source that the suspect that the LAF were after (and who also died in the gun battle) was responsible for/involved in an historical attack that took out a high ranking HA inside Syria -- and even that some HA people could even have been in the vehicle with the two soldiers who died in the ambush.... Of course this is a "Lebanese rumour" so some or all of it could be nonsense, but it does seem to be a very messy and complicated case.
