Suleiman Voices Concern over Syria Chemical Attack: Rockets on Israel Violation of Lebanon Sovereignty
President Michel Suleiman on Thursday expressed "grave concern" over the use of chemical weapons in Syria and condemned the firing of rockets from Lebanon at Israel as a "violation of Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty."
The president said that if confirmed the attacks would totally be in violation of “human values and principles.”
Suleiman voiced “grave concern over the use of such weapons by any party, especially in a country that neighbors Lebanon,” hoping the Security Council will reach “a tangible result in this issue.”
The Syrian opposition said more than 1,300 people were killed in bomb attacks with a chemical agent carried out by regime forces in the Ghouta area on Wednesday, an accusation vehemently denied by Damascus.
Separately, Suleiman hailed “the efforts exerted by the army and security forces in busting the terrorist and subversive networks,” stressing “the importance of boosting measures and investigations to pursue the masterminds and culprits of these acts and arrest them in order to prevent strife and put an end to their criminal activities.”
Commenting on the rocket attack from southern Lebanon on northern Israel that happened earlier in the day, Suleiman condemned the incident as a “violation of (U.N. Security Council) Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty.”
The president called on the relevant authorities to “unveil the perpetrators and refer them to the judiciary.”
Earlier on Thursday, unknown militants fired four rockets from the southern region of Tyre towards northern Israel, causing no casualties.
For his part, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said the rocket attack was a “clear attempt to disrupt the security situation in the South and turn Lebanon again into an arena for settling scores and sending messages in one direction or another.”
“The Lebanese government condemns the incident and considers it a blatant violation of UNSCR 1701,” Miqati added.
He noted that the Lebanese army, in cooperation with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), “has launched intensive investigations to unveil the circumstances of the incident, refer the culprits to the judiciary and prevent any attempt to undermine the stability that the South is enjoying, especially in the border area.”
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