White House Condemns 'Nasrallah's Game in Syria' as FSA Threatens of Move Battle to Lebanon
The White House on Tuesday condemned Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's war, expressing that the party's leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is “playing a dangerous game,” as the Free Syrian Army threatened to move the battle to Lebanon.
"We are deeply concerned by the continued fighting in (the Syrian border town of) al-Qusayr and condemn the indiscriminate killing of civilians by Assad's forces and his proxies, including Hizbullah fighters," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Carney raised disquiet about the recent spillover of violence into Lebanon, which he said could spark risks of regional instability.
“Nasrallah is playing a dangerous game by sending fighters to support Assad in Syria,” the spokesman remarked.
He elaborated: "Hasan Nasrallah is risking Lebanon's stability and the security of the Lebanese people in order to preserve Assad's rule.”
Carney reiterated the United States' support for Lebanon's policy of dissociation from the conflict in Syria.
“We urge all parties to avoid actions that will involve the Lebanese people in the conflict.”
Meanwhile, the Washington-based al-Hurra television station announced on Tuesday that the FSA informed the United Nations that it plans on moving the fight against Hizbullah from Syria to Lebanon “if the party does not stop its invasion of Syrian territories.”
Al-Arabiya television had reported earlier that the party on Tuesday held funerals for four fighters who died in Syria's battles.
The military support of Hizbullah has helped Syrian regime forces gain the upper hand in the battle for control of Qusayr, a key town for both the regime and the insurgents, where an army assault began last month, amid a Lebanese, regional and international outcry.
Nasrallah had previously justified the group's involvement in Syria by saying they were defending Lebanese-inhabited border villages inside Syria and Shiite holy sites.
But during a May 25 speech marking the 13th anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from Lebanon, Nasrallah said the Takfiris are the “most prevailing group in the Syrian opposition,” warning against a defeat against them in the ongoing war in Syria.
He said: “If Syria falls in the hands of the Takfiris and the United States, the resistance will become under a siege and Israel will enter Lebanon. If Syria falls, the Palestinian cause will be lost.”
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