Aoun defends army against 'suspicious campaigns, incitement'
President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday called Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal and offered condolences over the two soldiers who were killed Tuesday in clashes with drug barons in Baalbek’s al-Sharawneh neighborhood.
“Once again, the army is paying with the blood of its men to protect Lebanese society from the scourge of drugs on the one hand, and to enforce the law on the other. Yesterday's two martyrs have joined a long line of comrades who sacrificed their most precious possession in fulfillment of their oath, reaffirming the military institution's determination, in cooperation with other security forces, to continue enforcing the law, pursuing perpetrators, and curbing crime in all its forms,” Aoun said.
The president added that the army is simultaneously protecting the borders and extending the state's authority and that “nothing will deter the army from carrying out its national duty -- neither suspicious campaigns, nor incitement, nor questioning from any side it may come from, whether internal or external.”
Source: Naharnet
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