Saqr to file lawsuit against 30 people on Monday, Future delegation visits Arsal

Sources told LBCI that Judge Saqr Saqr received on Sunday the file of Arsal incident and will file on Monday a lawsuit against 30 people involved in the incident.          

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army continued implementing intensive security measures in the town of Arsal.                     

On the other hand, a delegation from the Future Movement visited Arsal, where Future MP Atef Majdalani said that Arsal is a steadfast town, noting that it has been a target for the state’s deprivation over the past years.             

Majdalani thanked, on behalf of the delegation, the town’s residents, stressing that everyone calls for a decent investigation in the case in order to reveal the truth, reach justice and uncover the criminals.                     

In this context, he pointed out that he will be meeting on Monday the LAF chief General Jean Qahwaji.                

For his part, Arsal’s Mayor Ali al-Houjayri addressed General Jean Qahwaji saying: “Arsal is your town, and I hold you responsible for it”.            

In turn, Sheikh Abbas Yazbek considered that the Lebanese Army is targeted, calling on everyone to assume its responsibility and to conduct honest investigations in the case.

Earlier in the day, a delegation from the Future Movement offered condolences over the death of Major Pierre Bachaalany at St. George Church in Mreyjat, on behalf of former PM Saad Hariri and the Future Movement.                    

The delegation included MPs Bassem al-Chab, Jamal al-Jarrah, Amine Wehbe and Assem Araji.              

LAF troops were ambushed Friday February 1st, 2013, while trying to detain fugitive, Khaled Hmeid, suspected of involvement in the 2011 kidnapping of seven Estonian tourists who were abducted in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley and held for nearly four months before being released in July that year.                 

Khaled Hmeid was injured in the raid and subsequently succumbed to his wounds. Shortly after his capture around 80 gunmen adamant on avenging Hmeid's capture followed the LAF troops who reportedly were stuck on the road leading out of the town due to the accumulation of snow. The gunmen attacked the troops leaving Major Pierre Bachaalany and Adjutant Ibrahim Zahraman for dead. The two were then taken alongside the remaining injured troops to the towns municipality and paraded in a show of celebration.   

The death of the two soldiers have stirred the emotions of Lebanese Army supporters leading many to cut off roads and burn tires as a reaction to the crime.