U.S. Ambassador to
Lebanon Maura Connelly on Thursday held a meeting with Free Patriotic Movement
leader MP Michel Aoun, during which she conveyed “the grave concern of the
United States over recent assassination attempts in Lebanon” and said the U.S.
was “deeply disturbed by the recent deportations of 14 Syrians.”
“The Ambassador and
General Aoun discussed the political and security situation in Lebanon and the
current situation in Syria,” said a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy after
the talks.
“The Ambassador conveyed
the grave concern of the United States over recent assassination attempts in
Lebanon and urged full support for the investigations currently underway by the
Lebanese security forces,” the statement added.
Addressing the issue of
Lebanon’s deportation on Wednesday of 14 Syrian citizens to their strife-torn
country, Connelly told Aoun that “the U.S. was deeply disturbed by the recent
deportations of 14 Syrians.”
She stressed “the
importance of protecting all Syrians, including dissenters and deserters, who
have rejected violence, in keeping with Lebanon’s international humanitarian
obligations.”
Lebanon’s General
Directorate of General Security said that those deported were wanted for common
law not political offences.
"These people were
handed over to the Syrian authorities because they had problems with the
judiciary and had committed crimes, and as far as we know they were not
political activists," a General Security official said.
"If they were, we
would not have deported them," he added.
Turning to the Syrian
crisis and its repercussions on Lebanon, Connelly stressed that “the
responsibility for the violence in Syrian and the violence that threatens to
spill over from Syria fall squarely on the Assad regime.”
The ambassador hailed
the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces for “their efforts
to maintain calm in Lebanon,” and supported the government’s decision to
increase the Lebanese army’s presence along the border with Syria.
The Ambassador also
praised the Lebanese people for “their generosity in hosting Syrian refugees”
and noted “the ongoing efforts of the Lebanese government, working with
international partners and organizations, to provide humanitarian assistance to
those refugees.”
In another statement
issued later on Thursday, Connelly expressed her “grave concern at the
continued shelling of Lebanese territory, including today’s incident deep in
Lebanese territory, by Syrian regime forces.”
“The U.S. expects the
Syrian regime to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon,”
Connelly added.http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48706
No comments:
Post a Comment