Security Source: Main Culprits of Arsal Incident Fled

Mona Thini

No matter how great political or popular escalations are due to any incident in Lebanon, speeches soon dim and fade when the case reaches persecution and accountability.

Even the Lebanese Army [LA], supposedly prided by Lebanese, is being treated with the same negligence in such a critical case.
Cold bloodedly, the Arsal incident, in which the LA's blood was shed, has been placed in a locked closet of accountabilities and political interests.
The Lebanese Prime Minister prohibited the LA to persecute the mayor of Arsal, an accomplice by provocation, waiting for the court to hear his statement as a witness.

February began with the martyrdom of Major Pierre Bashaalani and Adjutant Ibrahim Zaherman, and will end with their killers away from custody and accountability.
This unfortunate reality has become a "big nuisance to the Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji," a high security source told al-Ahed News website.
He revealed that "the main wanted men in the case fled to the uncultivated lands of Arsal and some Syrian border villages, including the mayor's son, who was witnessed from a short while in the uncultivated land, but attempts to chase him down and arrest him failed."

Moreover, the security source stressed, "Arresting all the wanted men, albeit its difficulty will remain a goal. A number of breaches occur daily, and a remarkable number of culprits are being arrested and investigations undergone."
The source further clarified, "We were not exaggerating in being determined to persecute any wanted individual, whoever he is; and we do not compromise over military blood. However, eventually, the LA is controlled by political forces, and that's the truth."

It is somewhat difficult to hear this description from an old security official. He had uttered a truth that almost every Lebanese knows of, yet to hear it directly from the "people in charge" is tough.
The Arsal incident, even when some tried to lessen its grave impact on the army soldiers, did not prevent them from wondering that "their suits will not obstruct any punishment the sectarian extremists will impose against them."
The security official then warned of "the danger of sectarian provocation that most politicians refuse to acknowledge, and the victim: the Lebanese citizen and the LA."

Source: al-Ahed News, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org