Bassil from Cairo: Army Chose Ground Operations to Face IS as Airstrikes Proved Insufficient

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil highlighted on Monday the threat of terrorism on Lebanon and the Arab world, urging leaders to take action to face it.

He said: “Airstrikes against the Islamic State group were not enough to combat it, which is why the Lebanese army chose ground operations to face it.”

He made his remarks during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers held in Cairo ahead of an Arab League summit scheduled for March 28.

“The army however needs military and financial support,” added Bassil.

“Our identity is the dearest thing to us in facing terrorism. We have enough heritage and history to prove that we are in the heart of the battle,” he stated.

On the threat the IS poses on the region, he remarked: “Fateful challenges are facing our Arab world.”

“We need an Arab awakening to confront it,” he declared.

Over the past months, the army has waged sporadic clashes with the IS and militants from other extremist groups that are entrenched along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

In August, jihadists overran the northeastern border town of Arsal where it engaged in battles with the army.

It kidnapped a number of servicemen in the wake of its withdrawal from the area after the brief clashes.

A few of the captives were released, four were executed, while the rest remain held.

An international coalition led by the United States began in 2014 launching airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq and Syria, where it has seized large swathes of territory.

M.T.

G.K.