Security Forces avoid confrontation with Hezbollah
Lebanese Gathering Option leader Ahmad al-Assaad held a press conference on Monday and said that the attacks against his party members proved that the upcoming parliamentary elections were not transparent, especially in the regions where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
He accused Hezbollah of being responsible for the attacks, because it had transformed into a new occupying power to prevent people from expressing their opinions and confirmed that “these acts will no longer be acceptable.”
He also said that Hezbollah aimed to run in the elections “according to the Iranian and Syrian models.”
Assaad added that Lebanese officials should also shoulder their responsibilities for not putting an end to the attacks against his party members and noted that Interior Minister Ziad Baroud could not achieve anything single handedly. He called on everyone to cooperate with the interior minister.
The LGO leader said that the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces should deploy to ensure security in South Lebanon and accused the army of not carrying out its duties properly, because “those responsible for making decisions did not want any confrontation with Hezbollah.”
He noted that he had requested an appointment with Defense Minister Elias al-Murr, but “he tried to avoid meeting with me. This is unacceptable, and Murr should shoulder his responsibilities.”
He also said that some were accusing LGO members of being agents working for Israel and added “these allegations counted as the biggest favor for Israel.”
“All the attacks and allegations only encourage us, and we are more determined to achieve our goals,” he concluded.