Sharkas Says Lebanese State is Hizbullah Affiliate, Calls on Jihadists to Move Battle to Lebanon
Islamist militant Anas Sharkas, who is also known as Abu Ali al-Shishani, lashed out at the Lebanese state and accused it of collaborating with Hizbullah, calling on jihadists to move the battle into Lebanon.
Sharkas said in an interview published on Wednesday in al-Akhbar newspaper that Hizbullah “considers Iran as gods and entered Syria to murder its men and assault its women.”
“The mask fell off Hizbullah,” Sharkas told his interviewer.
He slammed the Lebanese government as “lacking leadership,” accusing it of being an “affiliated to Hizbullah.”
Sharkas didn't rule out the possibility of entering Lebanon, calling on jihadists “to move to Lebanon to break Hizbullah after it intervened in Syria.”
“The party came here to kill our men, women and children, while its women and children are enjoying security,” Shishani added.
“If we want to succeed we have to fight in Lebanon.”
Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
Al-Akhbar said that the interview was carried out two months ago on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.
Shishani said that he joined the jihad with the aim of the formation of an "Islamic caliphate,” an Islamic form of government last seen under the Ottoman Empire.
The militant called on the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front to unite under the “banner of Islam,” saying that he “would sacrifice his life for both groups with nothing in return.”
He also urged the Free Syrian Army to declare allegiance to the groups.
Shishani is leading the Armor Battalion of Islam that is comprised of 30 fighters.
“I am known as Abu Ali al-Shishani. I am Circassian and I hail from the city of Qusayr, in central Homs, before rafida controlled it. I am proud of my Syrian-Caucasian origin.”
On Tuesday, Ola al-Oqaili, the wife of al-Shishani was handed over to the General Security. She was arrested two months after extensive surveillance.
She was apprehended along with her brother Rakan in the Zgharta area of Hilan in northern Lebanon at a public school hosting Syrian refugees.
The Military Court's move indicates that the release of al-Oqaili has become imminent and that she has been cleared of any major offenses.
In retaliation to the arrest, al-Shishani had threatened to start kidnapping the wives and children of soldiers until the Lebanese authorities release his spouse and two children.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/158569 |