FSA Flagrant Violations to Sovereignty Go... Unnoticed?!

Hussein Assi

One week ago, the Army Command announced the infiltration of the so-called "Free Syrian Army" unit of the Bekaa town of Arsal, and declared that the mentioned unit attacked an army post in the area.

The so-called "sovereignty defenders" did not denounce the violation, and therefore did not condemn the attack. Simply, they did not find it necessary to say even one word about it.
However, on Thursday, when the Syrian Army was targeting a terrorist gang near the border with Lebanon, the same "sovereignty defenders" woke up. They immediately and vehemently condemned what they called the "violation" and firmly requested "actions." But the military sources made it clear: no violation was reported, as the Syrian activity took place inside the Syrian territories, near the border.
That's it. It's not only a story of "double standards". It's a "partnership" in the repetitive "assaults", whether intentionally or unintentionally.

REPETITIVE ASSAULTS AGAIN LA CONTINUE

In another assault against the Lebanese Army by the rebels and terrorists, the Army Command announced on Saturday the infiltration of an FSA unit of the Bekaa town of Arsal. It said in a statement that the unit, "backed by a large number of gunmen, infiltrated the outskirts of the town and then attacked an army post in the area." No one was injured in the attack, the statement stressed. The army then brought in reinforcements to Arsal to contain the situation and pursue the assailants, who fled to nearby mountainous regions and border villages.
While March 14 bloc, which has always claimed to seek the preservation of the sovereignty and independence, did not comment on the "attack", well-informed security sources said that what happened showed once again the real "intentions" of the so-called "Free Syrian Army".

They seek to take control over some strategic sites near the border with Syria, in order to launch the battle from some "friendly" Lebanese towns, which turned to be a kind of "logistic base" for its members.
The sources explained that, in case the "plan becomes reality", the so-called FSA could cross the border any time, with no restrictions at all and therefore the smuggling of arms and gunmen would be even simpler.

NOT THE FIRST ATTACK OF ITS KIND

Speaking about this "incident", which was not the first of its kind, sources close to the Syrian opposition reveal some "suspicious" facts. The FSA unit has actually attacked a Lebanese Army unit, besieged it and abducted three Lebanese soldiers. The "attack" came in "response" to the detention of ten FSA gunmen by the Lebanese Army one day earlier. The sources noted that "on ground negotiations" let to an "exchange of detainees".
However, military sources denied this "story". According to them, there were no Lebanese soldiers abducted at all. What happened was that an FSA unit, consisting of a large number of gunmen entered Lebanese territory overnight via the outskirts of Arsal, where it attacked one of the Lebanese Army's posts, the sources explained. The sources reiterated that the Lebanese Army will not allow any party to use Lebanese territory to implicate Lebanon in ongoing events in neighboring countries, and that it was reinforcing its presence near the border for this goal.

RESULT OF DISASSOCIATION POLICY!

"The assault, which was launched by the Free Syrian Army alongside some Lebanese sides against the Lebanese Army in Arsal, is actually a proof that the disassociation policy from the Syrian unrest adopted by the Lebanese government has turned to be a total failure, given the absence of any tangible steps on ground," member of Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Walid Succaria said in an exclusive interview with moqawama.org.

According to the brigadier general, the government has actually allowed these armed groups to interfere in the Syrian crisis without any restrictions. He revealed that gunfire has been launched from the Lebanese territories more than once, and that Syrian military positions were targeted, and that Syrian soldiers were injured as a result of this chaos. However, Succaria found strange how the Lebanese government acted towards this. "When the Syrian army reacted to the violations at the Lebanese side, we saw the Lebanese authorities submitting letters and asking for clarifications. These authorities did not even bother asking about the reasons the violation has been allowed at the first place."

FOR TANGIBLE STEPS

The assaults near the border with Syria are not new. The smuggling of arms and gunmen became something "normal". Yet, something must be done to prevent the repetition of such acts, which consist in principle a flagrant violation to all Lebanese laws and norms. In his interview with moqawama.org, MP Walid Succaria proposed some "tangible steps" that should be quickly implemented. "What should be done is simply a tangible translation of the so-called disassociation policy," he said. "The gunmen must be suppressed and prevented of operating from inside Lebanon," he added.
Succaria went on to say that the needed measures are: fighting these gang groups, detaining their members, transferring them to judiciary.

WHAT ABOUT "DOUBLE STANDARDS"?

"Freedom, Sovereignty, Independence", these three words made the "slogan" of the March 14 bloc throughout the last few years. During the last stage, this bloc did not hesitate in taking firm statements against the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The mentioned bloc accepted to take part in the "conspiracy" against Syria, and its leaders sponsored "in public" the so-called Syrian opposition.
However, following the incident against the Lebanese Army, the so-called March 14 bloc did not say one word. "But what would say?" MP Succaria asked, before answering: "Yes, maybe they will say that the army has not the right to confiscate the smuggled arms."
For him, the March 14 leaders are "shy" of saying anything. "It has been proven that the aggression is launched from Lebanon, so they preferred to stay calm because they are pro-Syrian opposition," he concluded his interview with moqawama.org.

Source: moqawama.org