Suleiman Reiterates Army's Role in Preventing Flow of Arms into Lebanon
President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Monday the significant role of the army and security agencies in preventing arms smuggling in Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.
“The army and security apparatus play an important role in preventing the flow of weapons and armed groups,” said Suleiman.
Moreover, the president urged political powers in Lebanon to commit to the policy adopted by the government and the national dialogue of dissociating the country from regional conflicts as stipulated in the Baabda Declaration.
“Everyone in Lebanon should abide by the policy that calls for dissociating Lebanon from external conflicts,” he added.
Suleiman's comments came on the backdrop of an incident on Friday when a group of 21 Lebanese Islamists from Tripoli were killed in an ambush in the Syrian border town of Tall Kalakh.
Media reports said that the victims were fighting alongside the Syrian opposition.
Heavy gunfire was heard in Tripoli on Friday night between the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh district and the neighboring Shiite district of Jabal Mohsen in light of the incident.
Bab al-Tabbaneh has been the scene of deadly clashes with Jabal Mohsen, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.
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