BEIRUT: Lebanon should not be used as means to attack Syria, Hezbollah MP Nawaf Musawi said Sunday, accusing the U.S. of preparing to go to war with the resistance’s ally.
“Lebanon should not bear the burden of being used as a base to pounce on Syria under the guise of safe corridors or a buffer zone or relieving the distraught or housing refugees,” Musawi said during a political gathering in the town of Rshaf, south Lebanon.
“If there is someone who cares about Syria and its people then they should contribute to preventing a civil war rather than strengthening sectarian strife and financially fueling the conflict through its media, institutions and personality,” he added.
Hezbollah has maintained that the anti-government uprising in Syria, its closest ally, is part of a conspiracy aimed at forcing the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s rule because of what the party describes as Assad’s endless support for Hezbollah and other resistance groups in the region.
Lebanon’s Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn sparked a nationwide controversy last month when he claimed that members of al-Qaeda are entering Lebanon under the guise of Syrian opposition members and residing in the border town of Arsal.
His comments came days before twin suicide bombings hit Damascus, with Syrian officials placing the blame on al-Qaeda. Syria has repeatedly said that violence on its territory is perpetrated at the hands of “armed gangs.”
The U.N.’s latest estimate puts the number of deaths in Syria at 5,000 since the start of the protests in mid-March, while Syria has said that 2,000 of its security and army personnel have been killed.
Musawi also accused the U.S. of preparing to wage war against Syria, as part of a campaign to weaken Russia’s influence in the region.
“Our analysis says there is an American Western being waged against Syria in a bid to occupy it ... and use its territory as military bases,” he said. “The campaign against Syria is intended to weaken Russia's presence and strike the axis of the resistance [against the U.S.].”