BEIRUT: The "emir" of the Abdallah Azzam Brigades Sirajeddine Zureiqat called Tuesday for Sunnis of Lebanon to fight the Army if soldiers entered their areas and homes.
“Sunni people of Lebanon; forbid the Army from entering your areas, raiding the homes of Muslims or the refugee camps,” Zureiqat posted on his official Twitter account, “regardless of the motives [of the raids].”
Zureiqat's recent call contradicted the one he made last week, in which he asked the group's supporters to target Hezbollah and not soldiers. In Tuesday's statement, the emir appeared to have changed his mind.
“This Army only understands the language of force, and so does its master, the party of Iran,” Zureiqat added. “So answer any Army attack with arms and fire.”
Zureiqat backed his call for violence by claiming that the Army discriminates against Sunni Muslims.
“The number of Sunni Army soldiers who were sacked reached about 200 in the last month!” Zureiqat claimed, adding they were discharged because of suspicions they had links to jihadists.
"[To be discharged] this way, the soldier loses his end of service pension, and thus loses his life after losing his religion, by volunteering in this Army that works for Hezbollah,” Zureiqat tweeted.
Zureiqat went further, claiming that soldiers who offered their condolences to the relatives of men who died fighting for jihadi groups in Syria were immediately fired from service, while those related to deceased Hezbollah fighters in Syria are given days off to mourn.
Calling the Army a “slave of Iran and the West,” Zureiqat threatened all religious groups in Lebanon, saying they too would be threated by brigades if they stood behind the Army.
“We warn you, the sects of Lebanon, against remaining silent about the practices of the Army toward our people,” he said. “Or else, brace yourself for a Lebanese jihadi revolution on the oppressors and their allies.”
Zureiqat’s group has direct relations with al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front and claimed responsibility for several bombings in areas where Hezbollah enjoys wide support.
Former ISIS commander Imad Jomaa, captured in August, confessed to the Army intelligence that his group had a plan to create an Islamic emirate in north and east Lebanon, with Zureiqat as emir.
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