Mortada to Al Mayadeen: Khalde Ambush Failed Dragging Lebanon into Civil War

Tuesday, 3 August 2021

Mortada to Al Mayadeen: Khalde Ambush Failed Dragging Lebanon into Civil War

August 1, 2021

By Al Mayadeen

Journalist and filmmaker at Al Akhbar newspaper, Radwan Mortada, tells Al Mayadeen that those behind the ambush failed to drag Hezbollah into the battle they were aiming for.

Visual search query image — Lebanese army mobilized in Khalde, south of Lebanon

Radwan Moratada, a journalist and filmmaker at Al Akhbar, told Al Mayadeen on Monday that “Hezbollah gave the security services a list of the killers’ names and a deadline to hand them over.”

الصحافي في جريدة الاخبار اللبنانية رضوان مرتضى لـ #الميادين: حزب الله اعطى القوى الأمنية قائمة بأسماء القتلة.@radwanmortada pic.twitter.com/OEt2n8ORjs— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 2, 2021

Mortada told Al Mayadeen that the Lebanese army carried out an arrest campaign; however, they do not know if the suspects were arrested as part of the said campaign because many of them left their homes.

Mortada added that those behind the ambush failed to drag Hezbollah into the battle they aimed for, revealing information about a US-Saudi involvement in the ambush, with the aim of dragging Hezbollah into war.

رضوان مرتضى لـ #الميادين: معلومات عن ارتباط أميركي وسعودي بالوقوف وراء هذا الكمين لاستدراج حزب الله إلى حرب.#لبنان @radwanmortada pic.twitter.com/DcCvH6qvhM— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 2, 2021

The Lebanese journalist indicated that what happened in Khalde on Sunday was not a revenge operation according to tribal law. He said that if it was, killing Ali Shibli at the wedding on Saturday would have sufficed.

Mortada also stated that since October 17, 2019, he had noticed that some entity was determined to lead the country to a Sunni-Shia war, and Hezbollah was not dragged into that.

“What happened yesterday crossed all the red lines,” he added, saying that there were women and children among the mourners, noting that the attackers were determined to shed the largest amount of blood.

Moreover, the Lebanese Army Directorate of Intelligence announced Monday that it arrested Omar Ghosn and his son in light of the Khalde ambush.

Earlier today, the army also announced that two who were involved in the shooting were arrested.

On Sunday, the Lebanese army was deployed to Khalde after armed men ambushed a funeral for Ali Shibli that was being held in the area, which led to confrontations. In turn, the confrontations led to several soldiers and civilians getting injured.