Sami Gemayel Says Army Didn't 'Enter' Dahieh, Deployed Around It
Phalange Party Central Committee Coordinator MP Sami Gemayel on Sunday pointed out that the army did not enter Dahieh with the rest of security forces as part of the plan devised for the area, noting that its troops are only deployed around the Hizbullah stronghold.
"The real reason is that the army refuses to enter an area in which it does not have full authority and this is something it cannot tolerate," Gemayel said.
"That's why it refused to be in the joint committee or to enter the area," the MP added.
"Let us not delude people into thinking that the Lebanese army had entered Dahieh, because it is only present around it," he went on to say.
More than 1,000 security forces members and soldiers deployed on September 23 in Hizbullah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, weeks after the party had adopted strict security measures in the area.
The army, Internal Security Forces, and General Security members set up security points and took over Hizbullah's checkpoints in the area.
According to caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, the task force in Dahieh includes 300 army troops, 100 General Security agents and 400 Internal Security Forces personnel.
The deployment in Dahieh was aimed at ending Hizbullah's controversial security measures in the wake of two deadly explosions that targeted its stronghold in the suburbs.
Among the measures taken by Hizbullah was setting up checkpoints inside and at the entrances of the suburbs.
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