Mustaqbal, Hizbullah in Heated Parliamentary Debate on Army Operation in Abra

A heated debate took place on Thursday between MPs belonging to Hizbullah and the Mustaqbal Movement during a meeting for the defense and interior parliamentary committee, during which Mustaqbal's MPs demanded clarifications on the army's role in the Abra clashes.

"We are the army, well-known for our discipline and professionalism, we only act according to the requirements of the security situation and our only objective is to protect the country and prevent civil strife," caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn told reporters after taking part in the meeting at Nejmeh Square.

"I call on the parliament and on the specialized committees that want to ask us questions about the Sidon incidents to summon us so that we discuss how we can provide the army with the unavailable assets, as it is the only force that is protecting all the Lebanese, uniting them and proventing the spread of strife," Ghosn added.

Asked whether the ministry was being called to account over what happened in Abra, Ghosn angrily replied: “I reject the term accountability, as the army cannot be called to account and it is performing its duties with all due professionalism and discipline.”

Commenting on the videos displayed during the meeting, the minister said: “We offered clarifications and documents that prove that the operation conducted by the army was of a purely security nature and was conducted with all due professionalism and discipline, and we stressed that our first and main objective during that operation was to keep civilians out of the fighting and spare them any injuries and this is what happened.”

Asked whether Hizbullah members had taken part in the operation, Ghosn said: "No one participated other than army troops and when the army is present it would be in charge of all things."

Meanwhile, Mustaqbal bloc MP Khaled al-Daher said the MPs of Hizbullah and the March 8 forces "insisted on wasting time and rejecting the principle of holding such sessions that are aimed at clarifying things to the public opinion."

"In their opinion, it is unacceptable to raise any questions, interrogations or clarifications and they believe that the army is sacred and we must support it," Daher added.

And as the lawmaker underlined his "support for all state institutions, the army, the Internal Security Forces and all security and political institutions," he emphasized that “the ultimate sovereignty must be for the security and military institutions over all Lebanese regions and no party or militia must possess arms with the aim of practicing any form of autonomy.”

Daher also raised questions over pictures and videos circulated in the wake of the Abra battle about alleged “executions” and “artillery that took part in the shelling of Abra and Sidon's neighborhoods, the deployment of Hizbullah gunmen and the shooting that targeted MP Bahia Hariri's residence in Majdelyoun.”

“How could citizens be killed at the bases of Lebanese army intelligence? Do they want us to refrain from holding accountable those who commit a crime? Is there anyone who is above the law? Is the president of the republic himself above the constitution and above the law?" Daher added.

"There are regions that are not under Hizbullah's control and they want to use the Lebanese army to hit the Sunni and Christian regions," Daher claimed.

On June 23, gunmen loyal to Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir attacked an army checkpoint near the Islamist cleric's mosque in Sidon's Abra. Eighteen soldiers were martyred and 20 others were wounded in the attack and in the fierce clashes that ensued.

At least twenty of Asir's gunmen were also killed in the battle that ended when the army stormed Asir's headquarters on June 24.

In the wake of the clashes, two videos showing army troops abusing detainees allegedly linked to Asir were circulated on social networking websites.

Human Rights Watch has also urged an independent investigation into claims that a man identified as Nader al-Bayoumy had died under torture while in the custody of the army.

The army has referred the troops who appeared in the videos to the Military Court and launched a probe into the alleged abuses.

Daher's remarks drew a response from MP Qassem Hashem, member of the Baath bloc and the Development and Liberation bloc, who said "there is someone trying to attack the army and to carry on with the campaign that has been waged against it, while this session should have been dedicated to supporting and embracing the army."

For his part, Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Ali Ammar hit back at Daher, saying "it's about time for the camp of sedition, the camp of violations that preaches virtue and practices the total opposite – after it lost all its bets – to draw lessons and stop undermining the country's unity, civil peace, national unity, the Lebanese army and the Lebanese state."

"We want to protect this institution (Lebanese army) and we will not tolerate this political aggression against the army. I call on this camp (March 14) to review its calculations very well as the Lebanese army institution is an institution that is protecting civil peace and the national dignity," Ammar added.

LBCI television said the video displayed by the Army Command during the meeting “documents the beginning of the clash between al-Asir and the army and shows him changing his outfit and wearing military fatigues before opening fire.”

OTV said the army showed the MPs footage proving that "Asir had created an operations room in Abra and installed surveillance cameras that filmed him giving orders to kill army troops."

The fighting in Abra was among the worst in Lebanon since the outbreak of conflict in neighboring Syria 27 months ago deepened sectarian tensions.

It highlighted widespread Sunni resentment against the army, accused of siding with Hizbullah and being selective in its crackdown on armed groups.