Gemayel Urges U.N. Security Council Help in Stopping 'Foreign Assault' on Arsal

Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel on Sunday said that Lebanon should seek the protection of the U.N. Security Council in the face of the “foreign assault” on the Bekaa border town of Arsal, where a number of troops and civilians have been killed by gunmen who infiltrated from Syria.

“We offer our condolences to the families of the army's martyrs and we hope what happened will be a lesson for the Lebanese. This assault on Lebanon must be stopped and all measures must be taken to that end,” Gemayel said in remarks to MTV.

He called on the Lebanese state and government to “raise this issue before the U.N. and the Security Council because there is a foreign assault against Lebanon.”

“The normal authority is the Security Council and we will call for that during tomorrow's cabinet session,” Gemayel added.

He noted that temporary settlements “will not do us justice.”

“That's why Lebanon must go the Security Council to protect its borders,” Gemayel said.

He hoped all people and leaders “will unite in the face of this aggression and will forget all the domestic sensitivities.”

Fierce clashes between the army and armed groups in the eastern border region of Arsal continued into a second day on Sunday as troops sought to regain control of areas seized by the gunmen.

Ten soldiers have been killed and 25 others wounded since the eruption of clashes on Saturday, Army chief General Jean Qahwaji announced on Sunday, as he revealed that 13 troops have gone missing and are “possibly being held prisoner.”

The fighting has also left at least three civilians dead in Arsal.

An extraordinary cabinet session will be held on Monday to follow up on the unrest.

The fighting started when masked Syrian gunmen infiltrated Lebanon's Arsal after news broke out about the arrest of top militant Imad Ahmed Jomaa.

The infiltrators surrounded army checkpoints and targeted military posts with gunfire, while others stormed an Internal Security Forces post and took policemen hostage.

Y.R.