Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea backed a decision by Lebanon to enter a U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State and criticized Hizbullah for rejecting the country's support of the efforts to destroy jihadists.
“I am totally with Lebanon becoming part of this Western-Arab coalition against IS … because Lebanon is one of the parties that would benefit from the destruction of this organization,” Geagea said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper published on Tuesday.
Ten Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Lebanon announced their backing for the strategy to "destroy" the group "wherever it is, including in both Iraq and Syria," following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the Saudi city of Jeddah last week.
The announcement drew the criticism of Hizbullah officials, who said in remarks to al-Akhbar that the party rejected the coalition.
Jihadists from the IS and al-Nusra Front overran the northeastern border town of Arsal last month, killing Lebanese soldiers and taking many of them hostages.