Nasrallah urges end to Ain al-Helweh fighting, lauds army

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday described the deadly clashes at the Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp as “painful.”

“What’s happening at the Ain al-Helweh camp is painful because it entails blood, displacement and bad and agonizing repercussions,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking the Muharram 13 commemorations.

“This fighting should not continue, because its impact is detrimental to Sidon, the neighboring areas, the South and entire Lebanon,” Nasrallah added, urging “everyone at the Ain al-Helweh camp to stop the fighting.”

“Anyone who can contribute with a word or a phone call in order to halt the fighting should do so,” he said.

Separately, Nasrallah greeted the Lebanese Army on the occasion of Army Day, saying the military institution is “the main guarantee for territorial integrity and stability.”

“This institution must be supported so that it be able to perform its responsibilities,” he said.

Nasrallah also criticized the Organization for Islamic Cooperation’s statement on the recent Quran burnings, calling it weak, as it left the door up for each country to take action or not. He told “Muslim youth” that there “is no longer any sense in waiting for anyone,” and urged them to take matters into their own hands.

He did not specify how they should take action.

Nasrallah had told his followers Saturday, in another speech, that if governments of Muslim-majority nations did not act against countries that allow the desecration of the Quran, Muslims should “punish” those who facilitate attacks on Islam’s holy book. He did not elaborate.