REPORT: Former PM Saad Hariri returns to Lebanon after a three year self-imposed exile

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08-08-2014 | 03:29
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REPORT: Former PM Saad Hariri returns to Lebanon after a three year self-imposed exile
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REPORT: Former PM Saad Hariri returns to Lebanon after a three year self-imposed exile
Former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri arrived to Lebanon on Friday after a three year absence, a visit seen as a show of assertion of his leadership over the Sunni community after a deadly incursion by Sunni Islamist militants in the northeastern border town of Arsal left 17 Lebanese army soldiers killed and several others captive.

With no prior announcement, Hariri arrived at the government's headquarters in Beirut, where he met Prime Minister Tammam Salam.


In a chat with journalists upon leaving the Grand Serail, Hariri stressed that the current situation requires his presence in Lebanon, but refused to determine how long will he stay in the country.


A statement issued by Hariri’s media bureau said that the latter visited the tomb of his assassinated father, former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Central Beirut, then headed for the grand Serail to meet with PM Salam.


In this context, Future bloc MP Jamal al-Jarrah revealed that former PM Saad Hariri returned to Lebanon due to the dangerous situation in the country, mainly in Arsal, noting that Hariri will deal with the situation in a more comprehensive way.

In a statement to LBCI, al-Jarrah said Hariri does not need security guarantees, stressing that as a leader, “he risked his own safety to resolve the deteriorating situation in the country.”

Hariri, Lebanon's most influential Sunni politician, has been in self-imposed exile between France and Saudi Arabia since 2011. He left the country after his government was toppled by a coalition that included the Christian Free Patriotic Movement and Shi'ite Hezbollah.

His visit follows a deadly incursion by Islamist militants who crossed from Syria and seized the Sunni town of Arsal in the northeast last Saturday. The gunmen withdrew from the town on Thursday after five days of battles with the army.

Hariri earlier this week announced that Saudi Arabia would donate $1 billion in military aid to the Lebanese security forces to help them in the fight against extremists.

To watch Hoda Chedid's report, please click on the video above.


LBCI/REUTERS

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Former

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