Hujeiri: Arsal Not Surrounded by Gunmen
Head of the municipality of the northeastern border town of Arsal Ali al-Hujeiri denied that the town came under fire by sympathizers of the Bazzal family, whose son was executed by Islamist gunmen who had kidnapped him and a number of servicemen in August, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily on Sunday.
He told the daily: “Contrary to reports, the town was not surrounded by the sympathizers and was not subject to shelling.”
“Arsal's residents are leading their lives normally,” he stressed.
Asked about the actions of the relatives of slain policeman Ali al-Bazzal, he responded: “The highway leading to Arsal is the responsibility of the state, not ours.”
“We are keen on preserving good ties with our neighbors, whom we have coexisted with for hundreds of years,” remarked Hujeiri.
He criticized however the temporary detention of three Arsal residents by the sympathizers.
Furthermore, the municipal chief denied that Arsal is linked to the developments on its outskirts, where gunmen from Syria are active.
He instead said that he had repeatedly warned of the repercussions of Hizbullah's involvement in the fighting in Syria.
The army had repeatedly shelled the positions of gunmen in Arsal.
A number of policemen and soldiers were abducted by Islamists from Syria in the wake of clashes in Arsal in August.
A few of the detainees were released, four were executed, and the rest are still being held.
Al-Bazzal was the latest victim of execution.
Al-Nusra Front said on Friday night that it had killed him to avenge the arrest of Islamic militants' wives and children.
The enraged men of al-Bazzal earlier blocked the town's main road in the eastern village of Bazzalieh near the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The state-run National News Agency reported that the town's men erected checkpoints in the village, checking the identity cards of passers-by.
The National News Agency also reported armed presence in al-Bazzalieh.
M.T.
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