Lebanese army leadership denies Junblat accusation

Lebanese army leadership denied accusation made by the Druze leader and parliamentarian Walid Junblat against the chairman of the Syrian intelligence Asef Shawkat of threatening the leader of the Lebanese army Maj. Gen. Michael Suleiman over his decision to close the military line at the Syrian- Lebanese border.

In a statement, the Lebanese army leadership said "this leadership is interested to explain that the leadership of the army did not receive any threat from any side because of the closure of the military line, directly and indirectly."

In the course of the campaign he is leading against Damascus, Junblat accused the Syrian authorities of drawing a "devilish plan" seeking to return back to ruling Lebanon, through planning the assassination of several Lebanese parliamentarians "to overturn the majority inside the Lebanese parliament."

Earlier, Junblat launched a strong campaign against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following the assassination of the chief editor of the Lebanese daily an-Nahar and described al-Assad as "the sick man," considering that his presence in power threatens stability in the Middle East region.