It is the Army and not Hezbollah's task to secure the outskirts of Arsal, the town's mayor Ali Hujeiri told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper Sunday. "The Army is responsible for the situation in Lebanon's outskirts," Hujeiri said in published remarks. "The decision is taken by the [military] and not the clans or [Hezbollah chief] Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah." Hujeiri also said that a delegation from Arsal visited Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk to demand that the Army be given exclusive ownership over decisions concerning Arsal and the protection of its citizens. The comments by Hujeiri come amid growing tensions between Hezbollah and the Future Movement over Hezbollah's warning that it would enter the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal to push jihadis out of Lebanon if the Army doesn't take action. Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said Saturday that only the Lebanese Army can enter Arsal, in response to comments made by the deputy head of Hezbollah's executive council Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, who said that the party was ready to liberate the town. Militants have been holed up in the mountains surrounding Arsal since spring 2014, when they were driven out by Hezbollah and the Syrian army from Qalamoun.
