BEIRUT: The Army offensive against militants in north Lebnon is not a war against Sunnis, but Hezbollah is trying to exploit the security situation to stir sectarian strike, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said Sunday.
“Although we have a feeling that someone is hiding behind institutions to push for strife, and we condemn this, we will not contribute to it by achieving the goal of undermining the state and its institutions,” Rifi said in references to the Army Command and Hezbollah.
Rifi has accused the Army of being strongly influenced by Hezbollah.
Pledging to fight all conspiracies against the people of Tripoli and north Lebanon, Rifi said Sunnis have always been and will remain supportive of the state and its institution.
“I heard some voices and sides describing the events in Tripoli now and other areas of the north as a war on the Sunni people,” Rifi said in the Sunday statement. “I refuse such statements in form and content.”
Rifi said many Sunnis had been targeted because they stood with the state, mentioning late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and late Mufti Hasan Khaled.
“We will not respond to the mini-state, which is contributing to a civil war in Lebanon and the region, with a similar mini-state,” the former Internal Security Forces chief said, accusing Hezbollah of continuously trying to involve the Army in internal battles.
Rifi also called on residents of north Lebanon to avoid recklessness and to put their trust in the Future Movement.
The statement came amid fierce clashes between Army and jihadists in north Lebanon.
The death toll from three days of fighting between Lebanese troops and ISIS-inspired militants rose to 18 as the military cracked down on jihadists plotting attacks in the country in Tripoli and the northern district of Minyeh.
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