National Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab toured Wednesday the south of Lebanon and met in Tyre with Army Chief, General Joseph Aoun, and other ranking army officers, who briefed him on the situation in the southern region, especially in bordering villages.
Later during the day, Bou Saab and Aoun visited UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where they were received by the UNIFIL General Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col.
He then held a closed-door meeting, during which he had been briefed on the role of UNIFIL in south Lebanon and on the tasks entrusted to it by the United Nations, particularly the implementation of resolution 1701. He also discussed with Del Col Israel’s repeated violations of Lebanese territories by sea, land, and air.
“Today, more than any other, we need the Lebanese army to strengthen its presence in the region, to monitor the maintenance of security, and to deter any aggression by the Israeli enemy on the border. We all know that the army is here with 5,000 elements in the southern region of the Litani River, but the need is 10,000,” Bou Saab said.
“We will continue to demand every inch of Lebanese territory and we will not abandon any. We will not spare any means, be it diplomatic or in cooperation with UNIFIL to try to find solutions to disputed territories,” Bou Saab added.
He then thanked UNIFIL for its efforts, particularly its documentation of Israeli violations.
In response to a question about Hezbollah's weapons, the defense minister said: "No one aspires to carry out a mission on behalf of the army, a thing which has been confirmed by Hezbollah Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, and this entails a defensive strategy pending the end of the Israeli threats.”
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