Lebanese Army discovers subversive cell intent on attacking military sites

Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed Monday that the Lebanese Army had uncovered a subversive cell within its ranks that had plotted to attack military bases. “The Lebanese Army has arrested [members] of the cell and gave the investigation it had conducted to the relevant judiciary,” Mikati told reporters at the Grand Serail. “The cell has subversive intentions and was active in northern Lebanon with branches in the [Palestinian] camps,” Mikati said. He added that the cell had nothing to do with the year-long uprising in Syria. Mikati was referring to the six-member cell that was charged Friday with forming an armed group with the aim of carrying out “terrorist attacks.” Al-Akhbar newspaper published a report Monday saying the Lebanese Army had discovered a Salafist cell in its ranks, consisting of two soldiers who had planned to carry out attacks against the Army. According to the paper, the two, part of a larger group of four, are affiliated with the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr Friday pressed charges against the six Lebanese suspects “for setting up an armed gang and conducting training exercises with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts and operations against the [Lebanese] military establishment.” Judicial sources told The Daily Star Monday that all six suspects were members of a “fundamentalist group.” Turning to a separate issue, Mikati denied that he had a stormy meeting last week with the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, who was reported to have demanded that Lebanon hand over fugitive rebel Syrian soldiers to Syrian authorities. “The ambassador brought up the issue diplomatically. Of course, I understand the Syrian viewpoint as I do with the Western viewpoint. This adds more pressure on us in the government,” Mikati said. “But I represent the Lebanese viewpoint in my capacity as the head of Lebanon’s government and I am seeking to maintain stability and security in my country.” Ali has repeatedly called on the Lebanese government to tighten security and prevent arms smuggling across the border with Syria, where an increasingly militarized opposition is fighting to oust President Bashar Assad. Asked to comment on a reported official Damascus request to hand over Syrian gunmen who entered Lebanon recently, Mikati said: “This issue is now in the custody of the judiciary which takes the decision it deems fit. Anything related to the extradition of these people or others will have to be presented according to diplomatic and judicial rules and according to the agreements signed between Lebanon and Syria.” Mikati vowed that Lebanon would not serve as a transit point or a sanctuary for any “hostile act or conspiracy” against any Arab state, at the forefront of which is Syria. He said the Lebanese Army has taken the appropriate measures to prevent the smuggling of arms from Lebanon into Syria. “But the role of arms dealers in this respect should not be ignored,” he said. Mikati said the Lebanese Army enjoyed “full political cover” from the government to deal with any security incident in the interior and on the border. He reassured the Lebanese that the security situation in Lebanon was good, as were its relations with Arab and Western countries, including Syria. Mikati said the issue of Syrian refugees who cross into Lebanon to flee the violence in Syria was deliberately blown out of proportion. He said the Syrian refugees, estimated by the U.N. at more than 7,000, were receiving humanitarian aid from the Lebanese Health and Social Affairs Ministries and the Higher Relief Committee in cooperation with international organizations.