Berri Questions 'Suspicious' Campaign against Army in Light of Abra Clashes
Speaker Nabih Berri criticized the criticism directed against the Lebanese army and parliament, saying that the two institutions are symbols of Lebanon's unity, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.
He labeled the campaign against the army as “suspicious”, wondering why soldiers would be put on trial over the recent clashes in the southern region of Abra in the city of Sidon.
“The army gave the truth about the clashes, so why do they want to put it on trial?” he asked,
He noted that the army had conducted an internal investigation in light of the Abra unrest, “so why is it still coming under attack?”
The army has evidence that the supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir had attacked it, but it did not reveal them in line with judicial regulations, revealed Berri.
Furthermore, he praised caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn and the Army Command for “refusing to be dragged into disputes at the parliamentary defense committee meeting aimed at addressing the Abra clashes.”
He said that the meeting was aimed at demonstrating that the army was the first to assault al-Asir's supporters.
A meeting for the parliamentary defense committee was postponed on Thursday after Ghosn failed to attend the session set to discuss Hizbullah's involvement in last month's clashes in Abra.
The fighting in Sidon was sparked when al-Asir's supporters opened fire at an army checkpoint, leaving around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead in the ensuing two-day battles.
The cleric remains at large.
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.”
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