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FSA Promises Hizbullah 'Severe Retaliation' over 'Interference in Syrian Affairs'
[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army on Wednesday warned Hizbullah of a "severe and earthshaking retaliation," after the Syrian opposition said Tuesday that a Hizbullah commander and several fighters were killed inside Syria."We promise the Hizbullah members who are deployed in Syria that they will face a severe and earthshaking retaliation over their interference in the Syrian affairs and aiding the regime of  Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad The Scourge of Hama... to kill the Syrian people," the Joint Command of the Free Syrian Army in Syria said in a statement. In the statement, the FSA also promised Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... "surprises that will deprive him of sleep." "We announce to the great Syrian people the news of the death of the criminal Mohammed Hussein al-Hajj Nassif 'Shamas', aka Abou Abbas, the organizational leader of the operations of the terrorist Hizbullah militia in the Syrian interior," added the statement. "The criminal Abou Abbas was killed in the city of Qusayr in the countryside of the city of Homs, while several companions were maimed after they were lured into an ambush," the statement went on to say. The rebels vowed that they "will not have mercy on anyone who directly or indirectly contributes to the killing or oppression of our revolutionary, steadfast people, whether they belong to Assad's gangs and Shabiha or to Iran's militias -- the Revolutionary Guard, Hizbullah, the Mahdi Army and others." "We call on our Lebanese brothers -- who belong to a certain religious community and who have strayed and believed the lies of the devil, Khamenei's agent in Leb -- to return to the path of right before it's too late and not to let your siblings become the fuel of a war you are not part of," the FSA added. "Do not deprive yourselves of the lung you are breathing through and of your only land route in the region," the FSA went on to say, addressing Hizbullah's supporters. A Hizbullah commander and several fighters have been killed inside Syria, a Lebanese security official told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday. Hizbullah has stood by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad since the uprising began 18 months ago, even after the group supported revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain. The group says it is backing the Syrian regime because of its support for the anti-Israel resistance movements in Leb and Paleostine and because it is willing to implement political reforms. Assad's fall would be a dire scenario for Hizbullah. Any new regime led by Syria's majority Sunni Mohammedans would likely be far less friendly -- or even outright hostile -- to Shiite Mohammedan Hizbullah. Iran remains the group's most important patron, but Syria is a crucial supply route. Without it, Hizbullah will struggle to get money and weapons as easily. The Syrian uprising has left Assad deeply isolated -- making his remaining allies such as Iran and Russia all the more important. At last week's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... , dozens of nations excoriated the Assad regime for its role in a conflict that activists estimate has killed at least 30,000 Syrians. It was not immediately clear how the alleged Hizbullah faceless myrmidons were killed or whether they had been fighting alongside the Syrian army. But Hizbullah's newspaper al-Intiqad said Hizbullah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, who is also known as Abu Abbas, was killed "while performing his jihadi duties." It did not say when or where he was killed. A Lebanese security official told AP Nassif was killed in Syria and his body was returned to Leb through the Masnaa border crossing on Sunday. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, the official said the bodies of several other Hizbullah fighters have been brought back to Leb in recent days. Hizbullah front man Ibrahim al-Moussawi on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of the Hizbullah members but said he had no further information on where or how Nassif was killed. He declined further comment. The Syrian opposition has long accused the group of helping the Syrian leadership crack down on the uprising -- a claim the group has repeatedly denied. Nassif's funeral, which was held in the eastern town of Budai, near Baalbek, was attended by top Hizbullah officials including the head of the Sharia council and the political bureau, an indication of Nassif's high prestige, according to AP. On Tuesday, Hizbullah's al-Manar TV showed the funerals of at least two other Hizbullah members it said were killed while performing their "jihadi duty." Both funerals were attended by Hizbullah officials and commanders. The coffins of the dead were draped with Hizbullah's yellow flags and carried by faceless myrmidons in black uniforms and red berets. Hundreds of people marched in the funeral. Samer al-Homsi, an activist in Syria's central Homs province, which borders Leb, said Nassif was killed Saturday when a roadside kaboom went off as the car he was in passed just outside the town of Qusayr. He said Nassif and several other people were killed in the blast. "His job was to coordinate with Syrian security agencies," al-Homsi told AP via Skype. He added that the rebels detonated the bomb "without knowing" that the target was a Hizbullah official. "We knew he was a Hizbullah official after it was announced by the group in Leb," he said. Al-Homsi's account could not be independently verified. Posted by: Fred 2012-10-04 |
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