March 14 Says Tripoli Battle Ended Attempts to Label Lebanese as 'Supporters and Critics of Army'

The March 14 forces on Wednesday called on Hizbullah to put an end to “the duality of two armies and two decisions in one country,” noting that attempts to “label the Lebanese as supporters and critics of the army” were refuted by the latest Tripoli battle.

“The national solidarity with the army, especially by the residents of Tripoli, Dinniyeh, Minieh and Akkar, has proved once again how much these regions are committed to Lebanon as an irreversible choice,” the March 14 General Secretariat said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

The army has tightened its security grip in North Lebanon after unprecedented deadly gunbattles with Islamist gunmen in Tripoli, Minieh and Akkar over the weekend.

The general secretariat hailed these regions for believing in “the irreplaceable state and the one army that must have no partners in preserving security across Lebanon.”

“The attempts to label the Lebanese as supporters and critics of the army have once again been toppled in Tripoli, as no one can implicate an entire sect in any kind of confrontation with the army,” it added.

“The lists of martyrs in Nahr al-Bared, Arsal, Tripoli, the North and Sidon prove that there can be no labeling in admiring this institution for which the Lebanese are ready to sacrifice their blood,” the general secretariat underlined.

It pointed out that the army is capable of containing all security clashes and incidents “if there is a political will.”

“If Hizbullah is honest about its admiration of the army it must move to end the duality of 'two armies and two decisions in one country' and to hand over its arms to the Lebanese state, in line with the Taef Accord and (U.N. Security Council) Resolutions 1559 and 1701,” the general secretariat added.

Y.R.