Sawan Questions Arsal's Municipal Chief, Substitutes Bail for Arrest

Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Sawan questioned Arsal's municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi against the backdrop of an army assault in February, and substituted an arrest warrant for a LL 300,000 bail, the state-run National News agency said on Wednesday.

Sawan, who questioned al-Hujairi for three hours, obtained a permission from caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to prosecute the suspect.

An army patrol was ambushed by Arsal gunmen in February as it was hunting a man wanted for several terrorist acts.

Clashes between the armed groups and army left an officer and a sergeant dead in addition to several military personnel wounded.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged 34 people then, and summoned al-Hujairi to question him.

Al-Hujairi and his son have appeared on a video broadcast by a local channel showing the town's residents encircling the soldiers wounded in the ambush.