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Lebanon urges int'l community to back military against spillover violence

27 August 2014 01:14 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Lebanon called on the international community on Tuesday to quickly back its military and security forces in their campaign against "terrorist groups," warning that violence from Syria could easily spill over into its borders, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Speaking to the diplomats of the five permanent powers at the Security Council as well as the UN's Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Speaker Nabih Berri, stressed the threats and dangers facing Lebanon, the National News Agency reported.

On Aug. 2, the Lebanese army battled against Syrian Islamist gunmen, who infiltrated the Syrian-Lebanese border town of Arsal after the army arrested a member of the al-Qaida affiliated group, al-Nusra Front.

The clashes resulted in the death of at least 18 soldiers and injured 86 others, while 33 soldiers and security forces were kidnapped.

"The meeting with the House Speaker was fruitful and I would like to express that the U.S. government has full confidence in Lebanon's government and security institutions in facing the challenges of the extension of Syria conflict," U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale told reporters following the meeting.

"ISIS (also known as the Islamic State) and other extremist groups are certainly seeking to wreak havoc and chaos in the region, which also threatens Lebanon. This is the strategy of hardliners because in the middle of this chaos, they have the chance to succeed," he said.

The ambassador reiterated the Obama administration's support for Lebanon, assuring Lebanese officials that "the U.S. stands united with Lebanon to fight extremism and enhance modernity."

But Hale added that the Lebanese people also needed to be united, referring to the current political stalemate in Lebanon that has left the country with a presidential vacuum.

"The president of the republic is the symbol of the nation's unity. In the event of vacuum, Lebanon is weak and so are its friends. Therefore, the only beneficiaries are the extremists," Hale said, adding Lebanon's leaders should immediately elect a president for the sake of unity and stability.

The term of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman ended on May 25. The post has been vacant since then and the parliament has failed for a total of ten consecutive times to elect a new head of state.

According to the constitution, the Lebanese President must be Christian Maronite and elected by two-thirds of the 128-member parliament in the first round of voting and by simple majority in the following rounds.

However, the parliament has been sharply divided between the western-backed March 14 camp and the Iranian-Syrian backed March 8 camp.