Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali claimed on Saturday after talks with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh that his country is keen on maintaining stability in Lebanon.
“Syria is keen to preserve Lebanon and its resistance,” Ali said
Resistance here means the Shiite Hezbollah militant group that has been helping the Syrian regime in its crackdown against the mostly Sunni Syrian rebels who are seeking to overthrow the 40 year old regime
Syria behind Tripoli bombing
His comments come a day after Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr indicted five suspects in the twin car bombings that rocked the northern city of Tripoli on August 23 ; Three Lebanese and two Syrian nationals.
Head of the Islamic Unification Movement (IUM) Sheikh Hashem Minkara who is closely allied with the Syrian regime , his assistant Sheikh Ahmed al-Gharib and informer Mustafa Houri were charged with forming an armed gang , a terrorist cell along with planting explosive devices and car bombs in front of the two Tripoli mosques and of undermining the authority of the state.
Saqr also charged Syrian army Captain Mohammad Ali and another Syrian national, Khoder al-Arban, with murder and planting car bombs.
The five were referred to the first military magistrate.
Gharib who was interrogated over the Aug. 23 car bombings revealed that the explosions were “directly planned by Syrian intelligence,” according to security sources .
The Tripoli attack was linked to ex-minister Michel Samaha .
On August 9 of last year, Lebanese security forces arrested Samaha, who has close ties with Syria’s embattled regime, for smuggling weapons into Lebanon in a bid to foment terrorism.
According to Lebanese security sources, when asked why he would do such a thing, the former minister replied, “This is what Bashar wants.” In a possible reference to the embattled Syrian president Bashar al Assad.
Syrian refugees
Asked about the fate of Syrian refugees, ambassador Ali stressed that his country is coordinating with the Lebanese state.
He called on the Syrian refugees to return to their country as the state will provide them with a safe shelter in safe zones and with all their needs.
Ali accused the countries that are aiding the Syrian refugees of also funding “terrorism.”
In a country of 4 million 1 of every four is a Syrian refugee, according to Lebanese reports
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