Ghosn Says Army 'Red Line,' Rejects Questioning Military Institution Endeavors
Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn stressed on Friday that he rejects any attempts to question the Lebanese army's actions, pointing out that the military institution is a “red line.”
“Ghosn will not allow anyone to undermine the authority of the army,” sources close to the caretaker minister said in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.
Thursday 's parliamentary defense committee meeting was postponed after Ghosn failed to attend the session set to discuss Hizbullah's involvement in last month's deadly clashes in the southern town of Abra, near the city of Sidon.
Sources snubbed al-Mustaqbal MP Samir al-Jisr's threats to debrief the caretaker minister, saying: “the lawmaker has no right to question the minister and take a unilateral decision.”
Al-Jisr, who is head of the parliamentary defense committee, stressed that he will contact Ghosn to ask about his failure to attend the meeting.
“If he just intended to boycott the meeting then I will resort to the parliament's rules of procedure and call on the minister to attend,” al-Jisr said.
The fighting near Sidon was sparked late last month when Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint, leaving around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead.
The gunbattles concentrated in the area of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings in Abra.
Asir, a 45-year-old cleric who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, is no where to be found along with Fadel Shaker.
Asir teamed up with Shaker, a onetime prominent singer, when around two years ago he began agitating for Hizbullah to disarm.
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