Berri Angry over Lebanon Turmoil, Says Airport Road 'Red Line'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Speaker Nabih Berri expressed anger on Wednesday over the chaotic situation in Lebanon, stressing that the airport road is a “red line,” local newspapers reported.
“The hand of whoever blocks the airport road will be cut,” Berri told As Safir newspaper.
The speaker said that the army was authorized to safeguard the citizens and deal firmly with anyone who attempts to block the airport road.
“It’s a vital road,” Berri told An Nahar newspaper.
The airport road has been blocked several times recently to protest the severe electricity rationing in Beirut’s southern suburbs and by the families of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, who were kidnapped on May 22, to protest the cabinet’s failure to release the men.
The road closure has forced travellers to go to the airport or return on foot, leading to growing frustration among passengers during the summer season which witnesses a higher number of flights from and into Beirut.
European missions in Lebanon will hold a meeting for the ambassadors deputies in Lebanon over the airport road closure as most of the European ambassadors to Lebanon are on holiday outside the country.
The meeting will tackle the impact of the Syrian crisis on the European community in Lebanon, in particular, providing their nationals with ways to depart back to their country, the Central News Agency reported.
According to the news agency, several European nationals, who fled the turmoil in the neighboring country, arrived in Lebanon to head back to their country but the airport road closure prevented them to do so.
On the ongoing clashes in the northern city of Tripoli between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen since Monday, Berri told As Safir that its merely part of the Syrian turmoil’s repercussions on Lebanon.
“Some parties are trying to slip the country into the turmoil in Syria, knowing that the developments in the region can significantly affect Lebanon,” he pointed out.
He called on all parties to assume their national responsibilities amid “this critical stage.”
Seven people were killed and 70 others were injured and 9 Lebanese army soldiers were wounded in clashes that erupted during Eid al-Fitr between the two districts of Tripoli.
The northern city has been rocked by deadly clashes in recent months between supporters and opponents of the Damascus regime as the conflict in Syria worsened with more than 23,000 reportedly killed there since March 2011.
22 August 2012, 08:57
04
Who woke him up? Shove your red lines and act civilied instead
22 August 2012, 11:08
06
Ridiculous and inapropriate, especially when you know that it is his Hezbollah associates who keep on closing the road...
22 August 2012, 11:19
05
He is the most corrupt and the least accountable out of all, and we keep him and he keeps his kingdon in verdun. This guy laughs at all of us. At least harriri has a business as a window dressing for corruption, HA has Iran, others are corrupt too, but this guy takes the cake, does it in your face. he s amounted billions, purely from our hard earned money and we have no power to change any of it.
22 August 2012, 12:52
04
Start with removing your thugs from Beirut Areas like Burj Abi Haidar....if you happen to drive through or walk through those areas you just see Amal thugs smoking shisha under buildings where families live. Playing cards till 3 in the night leaving an ocean of "esher bezer" on the ground outside the entrances.
Start with that mister belli.
22 August 2012, 20:51
00
100% of the airport road cuts are by the Shia ya Berri. Even the Shia are getting sick of the Shia now it seems. We are already sick of their destruction.
23 August 2012, 03:03
01
Dont be fooled by this fox isteez Berri, his plan is to blame undirectly hezbollah for that , because al meqdad can be stopped by them. hezbollah is the main chiite militia on the ground, therefore it is the one that is supposed to clean up its own streets. It cannot say it can shower Israel of rockets and destroy it and not be able to bring down 50 or even 100 militiamen from Al meqdad. It is clearly in the game. Berri knows what hezbollah is doing and trying to blame it undirectly for not stopping them. He knows hezbollah is going down soon and because it will not on purpose control its chiite fellows because it would loose support against israel in case of war. isteez is smart and he wants back his throne among chiites.
23 August 2012, 03:08
01
And i would like to remind all here, in 2006, during the war, who was the mediator for Hezbollah? it was Berri. He prolonged the war on purpose giving thus Israelis more chance to destroy Hezbollah. he was playing with fire but israelis were smarter than him, they only wanted UN soldiers on the border and leave cancerous hezbollah , making lebanese believe it won , thus giving it boost to control lebanese state so that it can hit harder next time and everywhere. Israel wants a reason to destroy Lebanon and Hezbollah is giving it the green light to do so.
