Salam inspects South, says reconstruction a top priority
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam inspected south Lebanon on Friday and said the reconstruction of towns and homes destroyed by Israel is a top priority of his government.
Salam arrived in the South aboard an army helicopter, accompanied by Environment Minister Tamara al-Zein. Energy Minister Joe Saddi and Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny also accompanied Salam on his visit.
Salam’s stops included the Lebanese Army barracks in Tyre and Marjayoun and the southern towns of Khiam and Nabatieh.
“I salute all the heroes of our national army and its honorable martyrs. You are the epitome of honor, sacrifice and loyalty, and the backbone of sovereignty and independence. The army is the side in charge of defending Lebanon and on it falls the responsibility of preserving the country’s security, protecting its people and safeguarding its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” Salam said at the army barracks in Tyre.
“The Lebanese Army is fully performing its duties and boosting its deployment, with all due insistence and firmness, in order to consolidate stability in the South and secure the return of our people to their villages and homes. I stress that the government will work on enabling the Lebanese Army through increasing its personnel, equipment and training and improving its situations, in a manner that enhance its abilities for defending Lebanon,” the PM added.
Speaking to residents from the southern town of Dhayra who rallied outside the army barracks in Tyre, Salam told them that the reconstruction of the destroyed homes and villages and securing a dignified return for residents is one of the government’s top priorities.
“This is not a promise, but rather a personal commitment from me and from the government,” he added.
“The government is seeking to win residents’ confidence through deeds, not only words, and it had started prior to winning (parliament’s) confidence to rally every possible Arab and international support in order to compel the enemy to withdraw from our land and the so-called five points, because there can be no real and sustainable stability without a full Israeli withdrawal,” Salam went on to say.
Source: Naharnet
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