Hezbollah Accused of Seeking to Eliminate Electoral Opponents

Head of the Democratic Gathering MP Taymur Jumblatt. (NNA)
Head of the Democratic Gathering MP Taymur Jumblatt. (NNA)
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Hezbollah Accused of Seeking to Eliminate Electoral Opponents

Head of the Democratic Gathering MP Taymur Jumblatt. (NNA)
Head of the Democratic Gathering MP Taymur Jumblatt. (NNA)

The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and Lebanese Forces warned that the Hezbollah party and its allies were waging a "battle of elimination and existence" in the parliamentary elections.

Addressing an electoral rally in Mount Lebanon, head of the Democratic Gathering MP Taymur Jumblatt said: "You want to eliminate us, but we want partnership with everyone. You want to destroy the nation for others, while we want to build it for the Lebanese people."

"You want to hold Lebanon hostage of negotiations to protect the regime of killing and a nuclear Iran. We want a sovereign and independent Lebanon," he declared.

"Let us come together in partnership instead of elimination. This is a nation for everyone," he stressed.

The elections are set for May 15.

LF MP Antoine Habshi said Hezbollah was waging an existential battle against the Lebanese Forces in eastern Lebanon.

Speaking at a press conference he remarked that the electoral battle in the Baalbek-al-Hermel district had recently taken a turn towards violence and intimidation instead of freedom and democracy.

He held the Interior Ministry and security forces responsible for the violations. He also said Hezbollah would be blamed for "any drop of blood spilled."

The MP had held the conference after three out of six Shiite electoral candidates withdrew from the same list that is backed by the LF in the Baalbek-al-Hermel district.

The LF said they were forced to quit the race after being pressured by Hezbollah.

Moreover, Habshi charged that Hezbollah was bribing opponents a million Lebanese pounds and voters two million pounds so they would not take part in the elections.

He added that the party was even confiscating the identification cards of Shiite opponents to prevent them from voting.

The party dismissed the claims, saying they were part of a smear campaign against it.

Party MP Hassan Ezzedine said: "We are competing so that the turnout would be very high We are therefore seeking not only the victory of Hezbollah lists, but also the national ones that were formed through alliances between Hezbollah and its allies across the country."

He stressed that the party had formed national lists and were competing for victory in the elections that "would shape a new political scene that wants to address the country's crises and the people's suffering."



Assad Loyalists Kill at Least 13 Police Officers in Ambush on Syrian Forces in Coastal Town

Vehicles of members of Syria's new authorities security forces block a road in al-Sanamayn, in the southern province of Daraa, during a reported large scale military campaign on March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Vehicles of members of Syria's new authorities security forces block a road in al-Sanamayn, in the southern province of Daraa, during a reported large scale military campaign on March 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Assad Loyalists Kill at Least 13 Police Officers in Ambush on Syrian Forces in Coastal Town

Vehicles of members of Syria's new authorities security forces block a road in al-Sanamayn, in the southern province of Daraa, during a reported large scale military campaign on March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Vehicles of members of Syria's new authorities security forces block a road in al-Sanamayn, in the southern province of Daraa, during a reported large scale military campaign on March 5, 2025. (AFP)

Gunmen ambushed a Syrian police patrol in a coastal town Thursday, leaving at least 13 security members dead and many others wounded, a monitoring group and a local official said.

The attack came amid tensions in Syria’s coastal region between former President Bashar Assad’s minority Alawite sect and members of armed groups. Assad was overthrown in early December in an offensive of opposition factions led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the ambush in the town of Jableh, near the city of Latakia, killed at least 16. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the monitoring group, said the gunmen who ambushed the police force are Alawites.

“These are the worst clashes since the fall of the regime,” Abdurrahman said.

A local official in Damascus told The Associated Press that 13 members of the General Security directorate were killed in the ambush. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release security information to the media.

Conflicting casualties figures are not uncommon in the immediate aftermath of attacks in Syria’s 13-year conflict that has killed half a million people.

The pan Arab Al-Jazeera TV broadcaster said its cameraman Riad al-Hussein was wounded while covering the clashes.

The SANA state-news agency reported that large reinforcements were being sent to the coastal region to get the situation under control.

The Syrian Observatory said helicopter gunships took part in attacking Alawite gunmen and Jableh and nearby areas. It added that fighters loyal to former Syrian army Gen. Suheil al-Hassan, also known as Tiger, took part in the attacks against security forces.

Tensions have been on the rise in Syria with reports of attacks by militants against Alawites who had led the rule in Syria for more than five decades under the Assad family.