BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea Wednesday criticized Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah over his pledge one day earlier to fight jihadi groups in Syria's Qalamoun region to shield nearby Lebanon.
“Nasrallah [said]: ‘Our wars, from Sanaa to Qalamoun, are defensive',”Geagea posted on his Twitter account Wednesday. “Can someone explain to me what defensive wars Sayyed Nasrallah is talking about?”
With sarcastism, the LF chief went on to say: “I have long been searching Lebanon’s map, but could not find any border village called Sanaa, or any village called Qalamoun,” he continued. “I only found one village called Qalamoun near Tripoli, but it’s located at the heart of the Lebanese territory and not on the borders.”
Qalamoun, a Syrian mountain range that straddles Lebanon's eastern border where jihadi groups have a strong foot hold, shares its name with a northern village.
Regardless of whether Hezbollah’s fight was defensive, Geagea said the group does not have the right to engage in battles in the name of Lebanon. “In any case, who tasked him (Nasrallah) with waging defensive wars on behalf of the Lebanese,” Geagea asked.
Nasrallah announced in a speech Tuesday night that his party’s fighters were determined to oust jihadis in the Qalamoun region.
Nasrallah did not specify any details about the long anticipated military operation, but said his group would “not seek permission from anybody.”