Beirut: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has said that he and his government “managed to ensure stability and security in the country and the facts prove this.
Talking to a large group of business leaders, Aoun vowed to bring an end the “Syrian chaos” and crimes being allegedly being committed by the Syrians across the country.
Aoun told the delegation — which included the ministers of economy, telecommunications and tourism, as well as the Governor of the Central Bank, the European Union ambassador, UN representatives, as well as a group of business leaders — that after eradication of terrorism we are unfortunately witnessing a major domestic chaos, especially by some Syrians, and we are trying to bring this under control”.
The business delegation visited Aoun on the eve of the “Lebanese Forum for Small and Medium Enterprises”.
A confident Aoun said that his government will achieve a result regarding the Syrian issue like it acted against terrorism.
Unlike Palestinian refugees (laji’in) who are, for the most part, confined to twelve camps, the nearly 2 million Syrians in Lebanon, who are often referred to as nazihin (displaced), are largely spread throughout the country. Even those registered with various UN agencies are able to move about relatively freely. They intermingle with most residents, and live without regulations that are usually applied to foreigners.
Because of the war in Syria and, especially because of Hezbollah’s active participation in the ongoing fighting across the largely un-demarcated borders, inevitable clashes pitted the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with Syrians retrenched in several encampments, most notably around the city of Arsal.
On June 30, the LAF arrested some 355 Syrians during raids in two Syrian colonies in and around Arsal, where troops faced a string of suicide and grenade attacks that left seven of them wounded and a Syrian girl dead. Most were arrested Syrians were released later but 20 remained in custody over terrorism charges. A few days ago, the LAF acknowledged that four Syrian detainees died due to “chronic health problems aggravated by weather conditions”, despite allegations that they were tortured to death.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced on Monday after talks with the defence minister and the commander of the army that a transparent probe is under way over the deaths of Syrians. The premier cautioned that there are some elements who want to “sow discord and tensions between the army and the refugees.”
