BEIRUT: Former premier Saad Hariri said yesterday Lebanon’s Sunni Muslims refuse to be a part of any conflict between Al Qaeda and Shia movement Hezbollah, denouncing sectarian attacks on civilians anywhere in the country.
The war in neighbouring Syria has inflamed sectarian tensions in Lebanon, with Hezbollah backing President Bashar Al Assad and many Sunnis supporting the rebellion against him.
Hariri’s statement came a day after a jihadist group warned that all areas where Hezbollah operates are “legitimate targets”, telling Sunnis to avoid them.
It also came as new shelling from across the border hit the Hermel and Masharia Al Qaa areas of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, causing no casualties.
Al- usra Front in Lebanon and another jihadist group claimed responsibility for the shelling.
“The Lebanese, and the Sunnis among them, refuse to be part of any war in Lebanon or the region between Hezbollah and Al Qaeda,” said Hariri, who heads the anti-Syrian Future bloc.
“They also refuse that the civilians in any region of Lebanon become the targets,” he added.
On Friday, Al Nusra Front in Lebanon, a group suspected of links to Al Qaeda, described Hezbollah’s “bases and bastions” as “legitimate targets”.
It claimed a car bomb attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday that killed four people.
Hariri reiterated his opposition to Hezbollah’s support for Assad, whom he has accused of ordering the assassination of his father, former premier Rafiq Hariri.
“Every sane and patriotic Lebanese, of any sect, will refuse to be dragged behind these (jihadist) calls, (just) as he refuses Hezbollah’s war in Syria,” Hariri said.
Also on Saturday, another salvo of shells hit the Bekaa Valley, which has suffered frequent cross-border assaults.
“Eight shells hit the outskirts of Hermel, while one landed inside the town, causing material damage to vehicles and houses,” a security source said.
“Three mortar rounds also struck the outskirts of Masharia Al Qaa” east of Hermel, the source added.
Al Nusra Front in Lebanon and the Marwan Hadid brigades, another jihadist group, claimed the latest attacks.
AFP
