The March 14 General Secretariat called on Wednesday for a campaign to urge the Lebanese cabinet to tackle the possibility of controlling Lebanon's border with Syria.
The March 14 camp have continously called on the Lebanese state to allow the United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon (UNIFIL) to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border in accordance with resolution 1701, however, it was met with complete objection.
Resolution 1701, which ended the Hezbollah-Israel July war in 2006, expanded the mandate of UNIFIL in South Lebanon, which was originally formed in 1978 after the eruption of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
The general secretariat also voiced solidarity with the Lebanese army and the cabinet, hailing the efforts deployed to ensure the safe return of the soldiers who were kidnapped by Islamist armed men in the border town of Arsal.
Clashes erupted in Arsal on Saturday (August 01) when Syrian gunmen deployed across the region after the Lebanese Armed Forces arrested Syrian national Imad Ahmad Jomaa at a checkpoint.
The army said 19 soldiers have been killed, with at least 30 other ISF and LAF soldiers missing and 86 injured in the fighting.
On Thursday (August 07), a military source stated that a truce in Arsal appeared to be holding and the situation in the border town was quiet.
The sources said LAF troops were combing the area in eastern Lebanon to see if gunmen were withdrawing under the terms of the truce.
Lebanese security officials say the fighters included members of al Qaeda's Syria branch, the Nusra Front, and an al Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.
On another note, the March 14 general secretariat expressed fears over the direct repercussions of the regional developments on Lebanon amid the ongoing presidential vacuum.
“The continuous and deliberate obstruction of presidential elections by Hezbollah and its allies increased fear among the Lebanese people,” the statement noted.
The secretariat expressed belief that electing a new president would dismantle sectarian sedition and violence in the country.
Yesterday, Speaker Nabih Berri deferred the session tasked to elect a new president until September 2 for lack of required quorum.
Lebanon has been plunged into a presidential vacuum after Michel Sleiman's mandate ended on May 25 with rival political blocs still divided over a new leader.
Prior to Tuesday's session, nine electoral sessions were held, but parliament has failed so far to elect a new head of state due to lack of quorum.
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