Hezbollah denies member captured by Syria rebels

Hezbollah denied Tuesday that one of its members was caught by the Free Syrian Army while allegedly on a mission to Syria to fight alongside the regime against the rebels. “Hezbollah categorically denies that Mr. Hassan Salim Meqdad is one of its members,” the party’s press office said in a statement. Al-Arabiya television station reported Tuesday that the Free Syrian Army arrested a Hezbollah member who crossed into Syria as part of a 1,500-member group whose members were later distributed between Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. The TV channel aired what it described as “confessions” by Meqdad regarding his alleged involvement in Syria. Meqdad, who was shown in the video with three armed FSA members on guard behind him, said that Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah met with him among others and asked them to go to Syria. “He informed us that we have to go to Syria to support the Shiite Syrian regime and the Shiite Syrian Army. He also told us about armed Sunni gangs named the Free [Syrian] Army,” Meqdad said. He identified himself as a sniper and said that most snipers were trained in the northern town of Baalbek in Lebanon. "In my free time, I used to go around and see people. It was clear to me that all this talk is a lie and hypocrisy. There are no armed gangs, only a Free Army asking for freedom,” Meqdad said. Meqdad voiced support for the FSA, saying that the rebel group is demanding freedom and the end of repression and injustice and addressed Nasrallah, asking him to stop harming the Syrian people. It is not known whether Meqdad made his statements under duress. Hezbollah, President Bashar Assad's close ally, has repeatedly denied allegations that members of the resistance party were fighting alongside Syrian military forces against protesters. Nasrallah has voiced support for Assad in the 18-month-old crisis in the country, and has also said that dialogue between rival groups in Syria is the only means to resolve the conflict. Meanwhile, LBC quoted the Meqdad family in Beirut's southern suburbs denying that their relative had any ties to Hezbollah. They added that Meqdad was in Syria because of financial problems and that he's been in the country for over a year, contrary to what he said in the video. In the footage, Meqdad said he entered Syria earlier this month. (daily star)