Syrian Opposition: Hezbollah Leaders must Stand Trial

by The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

"We call for Hezbollah leaders to be put on trial for the terrorist crimes they committed on Syrian territory," says Syrian National Coalition • U.N. team tasked with investigating use of chemical weapons lands in Damascus for first trip to Syria.

Syrian rebels running during heavy clashes with soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, in Aleppo earlier this month | Photo credit: AP

The Syrian opposition said Tuesday that Lebanese Hezbollah leaders should be put on trial for fighting on the government's side in the Syrian civil war.

The surge in Hezbollah involvement has coincided with a turn in the tide of the fighting in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces and may be a factor in it.

On Wednesday, a United Nations delegation tasked with investigating the use of chemical weapons arrived in Damscuc for its first trip to Syria.

Hezbollah's active support of Assad's forces has fanned the flames of sectarian tensions in the region. The Syrian conflict, now in its third year, is increasingly being fought along sectarian lines, pitting Sunni against Shiite Muslims, spilling over into Lebanon.

The overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Assad see Hezbollah's involvement as a declaration of war.

"We call for Hezbollah leaders to be put on trial for the terrorist crimes they committed on Syrian territory," a statement issued by the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, Syria's main opposition group, said Tuesday.

The European Union placed Hezbollah's military wing on its terror list Monday.

The opposition group hailed the EU decision but stressed the need for European countries to take "concrete steps that would contribute to stopping the militia's involvement in Syria."

Iran and Syria said Tuesday that the EU's decision serves Israel's interests.

Seeking to appease concerns in Beirut, however, EU Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst said after meeting with Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister that the EU would work with any Lebanese government "even if Hezbollah is part of it."

Hezbollah and its allies dominated Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government, which resigned in March. Politicians have not been able to form a new government since.

Swedish chemical weapons expert Åke Sellström and U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane arrived Tuesday in Beirut on their way to Damascus, Lebanese airport officials said. The Syrian government has invited them for talks on the terms of a U.N. investigation.

The Syrian regime accuses rebels of using chemical agents in a March 19 attack in the government-controlled Aleppo suburb of Khan al-Assal. Assad's government has refused to allow inquiries in other places.

Khan al-Assal fell to the rebels hands on Monday. Even if the U.N. team does get access, it likely will be difficult to find evidence from the attack because so much time has passed.

Robert Serry, the U.N. Mideast envoy, told the Security Council that the U.N. has received 13 reports of alleged chemical weapons use in Syria. He said Sellström's team is studying this and other material.

"There is a growing body of limited but persuasive information showing that the regime has used and continues to use chemical weapons, including sarin," said British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=10919

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