Qortbawi and Madi Say Judiciary 'Carrying out its Duties' over Arsal Ambush

The justice minister and the general prosecutor hinted Tuesday the judiciary would issue arrest warrants against suspects involved in the deadly ambush on the army in the border town of Arsal if there is enough evidence against them.

In remarks to As Safir daily a day after his denial that he had issued arrest warrants, the prosecutor, Judge Hatem Madi, said: “The judiciary is carrying out its duties and the army intelligence is doing the necessary investigation with the suspects.”

“The judiciary will later do what is necessary,” he added without giving further details.

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi also promised to deal with the issue till the suspects are brought to justice.

The file is comprehensive and will not be subject to divisions neither in the shooting on the army patrol in Arsal nor in the responsibility of the Bekaa town's municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi and his relatives, he told As Safir.

The army has sealed off all the entrances to Arsal and brought in reinforcements as part of measures aimed at arresting more members of an armed group that targeted the patrol over the weekend, leaving two soldiers dead.

The patrol was in the area to pursue a suspect wanted on terrorism charges.

The head of the army intelligence, Brig. Gen. Edmond Fadel, said Monday that several suspects are in custody but he refused to give numbers.

He revealed that the intelligence had the names of more than 80 men involved in the attack.

The ambush led to the closure of roads in several areas by residents seeking to express their solidarity with the army.

The latest road closure was on Tuesday morning when protesters blocked for several hours the Batroun highway with burning tires.