Ibrahim: Lebanon Played Humanitarian Role in Zabadani Exchange
General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim defended the exchange that took place on Monday between the Syrian regime and rebels that saw the transfer of gunmen through Lebanese territory from the Zabadani area, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Tuesday.
He told the daily: “Lebanon played a humanitarian, social, and civil role in the operation.”
The deal came under criticism by local political sides that said that it “undermined the country's sovereignty.”
Ibrahim had overseen the necessary contacts between the concerned Lebanese authorities to ensure the swap's success.
A General Security statement issued on Monday night said that the deal was carried out under the supervision of concerned Lebanese powers and in coordination with the United Nations.
Government sources meanwhile told al-Mustaqbal daily Tuesday that Prime Minister Tammam Salam was informed of the exchange through the U.N.
The necessary contacts were made through U.N. envoy to Syrian Staffan de Mistura and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag, they explained.
“Lebanon played the role of a humanitarian passage, nothing more, nothing less,” they said.
“Salam is committed to Lebanon's policy of dissociation from the Syrian crisis now more than ever,” they stressed.
More than 120 rebels and wounded from the flashpoint Syrian border town of Zabadani traveled Monday from Beirut's airport to Turkey as part of a U.N.-backed truce.
A convoy carrying them had earlier in the day crossed from Syria into Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing.
The convoy consisted of seven buses and 22 ambulances and was accompanied by Lebanese security forces.
Simultaneously, two planes took off from Turkey's Hatay airport to Beirut, carrying 335 people evacuated from the mainly Shiite Syrian villages of Fuaa and Kafraya.
The residents had crossed into Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa border point and are to travel overland to Damascus after arriving in Beirut.
The Kataeb Party on Monday wondered if the Lebanese government was aware of a U.N.-sponsored deal, demanding that the government and premier “put the public opinion in the picture of the latest security and political developments.”
“Was the Lebanese state part of this agreement or was it imposed on it?” it wondered.
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