Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem admits the militia has lost…, says new regime in Syria should not…

Naim Qassem accepted in a televised address on Saturday.

New Delhi: Beirut: Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah’s chief Naim Qassem has acknowledged that it has temporarily lost its weapons supply route through Syria after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government on December 8.

Naim Qassem, in a televised address on Saturday, November 14 accepted the interruption, describing it as a “detail” in the broader scope of Hezbollah’s operations adding that the supply route could be restored once a new regime is in place. He also said that Hezbollah may seek other ways for weapon supply to resume.

“Yes, Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria at this stage, but this loss is a detail in the resistance’s work. A new regime could come and this route could return to normal, and we could look for other ways,” said Qassem.

Hezbollah sent its fighters to Syria in in 2013 to help Assad in quashing the rebels. Just a few days before the fall of the Assad regime and rebels approached Damascus, Hezbollah sent supervising officers to oversee a withdrawal of its fighters there.

Qassem has said that Syria’s new government should not recognize neighbouring Israel or establish ties with it. He further said that Hezbollah could only assess the new regime once it stabilises and clarifies its position.

“However, we hope the Lebanese and Syrian people and governments will continue cooperating,” he said.

Syria provided a land route for Hezbollah’s patron, Iran, to send convoys of weapons to Lebanon. Such convoys were often targeted by Israeli airstrikes but the militia was able to heavily arm itself regardless.

Qassem reiterated that despite the setback, Hezbollah’s resistance will continue.

(With IANS inputs)