BEIRUT: A prominent Saudi minister has accused Hezbollah of being a “party of Satan,” as he warned about the consequences of its actions in Lebanon.
Thamer Al-Sabhan, minister of state for Arab Gulf affairs, was apparently responding to criticisms against Saudi Arabia and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri and former President Michel Suleiman, which were made by Nawwaf Moussawi, a Hezbollah-aligned member of the Lebanese Parliament.
“The inhumane crimes committed by the party of Satan (Hezbollah) will certainly have consequences in Lebanon,” Al-Sabhan tweeted.
“The Lebanese people should choose to either stand with it or against (Hezbollah) because the blood of Arabs is precious.”
Hezbollah recently brokered a deal that allowed hundreds of Daesh fighters and their families to leave the Lebanese-Syrian border areas in buses, heading toward Daesh-held areas near the Syrian-Iraqi border.
The deal — which was highly controversial in Lebanon — involved Daesh revealing the location of the remains of Lebanese soldiers it abducted in 2014 and who were later killed.
Lebanese politician Okab Sakr warned Hezbollah over its claims that the exchange deal with Daesh was “just a humanitarian issue.”
Sakr accused Hezbollah of collaborating with the Syrian regime and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to create and safeguard Daesh and similar terrorist organizations.
Saudi minister slams Hezbollah as ‘party of Satan’
Saudi minister slams Hezbollah as ‘party of Satan’
Bridge over Euphrates reconnects Syrian villages in Deir Ezzor
- Temporary crossing will aid movement for people of Marat, al-Mari’iyah
- Many bridges were destroyed during Syria’s civil war
LONDON: Syria’s Defense Ministry has opened a temporary bridge over the Euphrates River to ease people’s movement and reconnect villages in eastern Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian army took control of the region from the Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month.
Deir Ezzor Gov. Ghassan al-Sayyed Ahmad and Brig. Gen. Ahmad Mohammad al-Jassem, commander of the army’s 66th Division, supervised the opening of the bridge, which links Marat and al-Mari’iyah.
Bridges along the Euphrates in eastern Syrian Arab Republic are vital for connecting communities. During the civil war, many were destroyed by militias, forcing residents to rely on boats to cross the river.
Officials said the project was part of broader initiatives to restore infrastructure and improve living conditions in regions affected by years of conflict, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
On Monday, Syrian authorities reopened Al-Mansour Bridge in Raqqa after completing rehabilitation work. About 60 bridges were destroyed between 2014 and 2017, when the city was under the control of Daesh, which regarded it as its capital.
