Qahwaji Says War on Terrorism Open, Warns of Harboring Terrorists
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed on Monday that the battle against terrorism and terrorists is open, expressing relief over the measures implemented along the Syrian-Lebanese border.
“Terrorism threatens all the Lebanese without any exception,” Qahwaji pointed out in comments published in As Safir newspaper.
He noted that the army will not be lenient with terrorist groups or those who are harboring them.
Hizbullah-dominated areas have been the main focus of attacks claimed by radical Sunni groups, the army has also been targeted.
Extremist Sunnis see the army as siding with Hizbullah in escalating Syria-related violence in Lebanon.
The party says its involvement in Syria is aimed at safeguarding Lebanon from "terror", but its Lebanese opponents say the Hizbullah presence there has caused jihadists to attack the country.
Concerning the situation along the Lebanese-Syrian border, Qahwaji told the daily that any assault against the army targets the country's civil peace, therefore the military will not stand watching.
The army and security forces tasked to control the border, upped security measures along the northern border with Syria starting from al-Arida crossing stretching to Wadi Khaled all the way along the Kabir river.
Since the Syrian crisis broke out in March 2011, several border areas in the north and east have been frequently struck by cross-border shelling, while the Syrian regime has told Lebanon to better control its porous border to prevent the smuggling of fighters and arms.
“The army didn't and will not hesitate to protect the residents (of the northern city) of Tripoli without any exception,” the army chief said, adding that a military-security-development plan should be established.
He also called for the end of the sectarian rhetoric.
Tripoli has been the scene of chronic sectarian fighting since the war in Syria erupted three years ago, with gunmen from the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh battling fighters in the Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.
According to As Safir the army will request the recruiting of around 5,000 soldier simultaneously with the Saudi grant to the military institution.
Lebanon is negotiating with France a grant by Saudi Arabia to the Lebanese Armed Forces after President Michel Suleiman had revealed in late December that Saudi Arabia has decided to donate three billion dollars with the aim of purchasing French weapons for the Lebanese army as soon as possible.
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