Lebanon must not become a safe haven for Syrian officials who are responsible for crimes, a leading Lebanese political party warned on Tuesday, citing reports that leading figures in Bashar al-Assad's ousted regime had fled to neighbouring Lebanon.
Kamal Jumblatt © DRE
Lebanon must not become a safe haven for Syrian officials who are responsible for crimes, a leading Lebanese political party warned on Tuesday, citing reports that leading figures in Bashar al-Assad's ousted regime had fled to neighbouring Lebanon.
The Progresssive Socialist Party (PSP), led by Lebanon's Jumblatt family, called on Lebanese state institutions to prevent the country from becoming a refuge for such officials so Lebanon "does not bear legal and political repercussions".
"After news of some leaders of the ousted regime in Syria fleeing to Lebanon through legal crossings, or crossing from Lebanon to other countries, the Progressive Socialist Party warns of the danger of turning Lebanon into a safe haven for those responsible for many crimes against Lebanese and Syrians," the PSP said in a statement.
Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power on Sunday, after rebel forces seized the capital Damascus after more than 13 years of civil war.
Walid Jumblatt's father, Kamal, was assassinated by the Syrian regime in 1977
Reporting by Laila Bassam
The past few days have unfolded like a geopolitical drama of historic proportions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia long considered untouchable, appears to be teetering on the edge of a seismic shift.
The U.S. military will consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Friday.
In a defiant speech on Friday evening, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, insisted that the group “will not allow anyone to disarm it,” rejecting growing internal calls for the Lebanese state to reclaim exclusive control over the country’s weapons.
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