Hezbollah head Naim Qassem mentioned on Saturday that the Lebanese armed group had misplaced its provide route by way of Syria, in his first feedback for the reason that toppling of President Bashar al-Assad practically per week in the past by a sweeping insurgent offensive.
Beneath Assad, Iran-backed Hezbollah used Syria to usher in weapons and different army tools from Iran, by way of Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. However on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and reduce off that route, and two days later, Islamist rebels captured the capital Damascus.
“Sure, Hezbollah has misplaced the army provide route by way of Syria at this stage, however this loss is a element within the resistance’s work,” Qassem mentioned in a televised speech on Saturday, with out mentioning Assad by identify.
“A brand new regime may come and this route may return to regular, and we may search for different methods,” he added.
Hezbollah began intervening in Syria in 2013 to assist Assad struggle rebels in search of to topple him at the moment. Final week, as rebels approached Damascus, the group despatched supervising officers to supervise a withdrawal of its fighters there.
Greater than 50 years of Assad household rule has now been changed with a transitional caretaker authorities put in place by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al Qaeda affiliate that spearheaded the insurgent offensive.
Qassem mentioned Hezbollah “can’t choose these new forces till they stabilise” and “take clear positions”, however mentioned he hoped that the Lebanese and Syrian peoples and governments may proceed to cooperate.
“We additionally hope that this new ruling get together will think about Israel an enemy and never normalise relations with it. These are the headlines that may have an effect on the character of the connection between us and Syria,” Qassem mentioned.
Hezbollah and Israel exchanged hearth throughout Lebanon’s southern border for practically a yr in hostilities triggered by the Gaza conflict, earlier than Israel went on the offensive in September, killing most of Hezbollah’s prime management.
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