Qahwaji Distances Himself from Lawyer Remarks on Hizbullah, Nitrates

Former army chief Jean Qahwaji has distanced himself from remarks voiced by his lawyer about the ammonium nitrate shipment that exploded at Beirut’s port.

“The remarks of my lawyer Antoine Toubia, in which he accused Hizbullah of covering up for the smuggling of ammonium nitrates to Syria, do not represent me and they were a personal analysis by him,” Qahwaji said in a TV interview.

Toubia had earlier said that “no party or human in Lebanon can steal this material, and accordingly the quantity that was stolen went to a sisterly state on our border that had a war raging.”

“We know the Syrian status in Lebanon and that they can do what they want. These things do not require a cover,” Toubia added.

Asked whether Hizbullah had provided the Syrians with a cover, the lawyer said: “Say what you want, yes.”

Toubia also noted that “Syria could not place the nitrates on its soil while facing the possibility of bombardment at any moment,” adding that “the investigative judge has major and comprehensive jurisdiction and can rely on it to turn toward Syria.”