Maronite Catholic says Hezbollah cached weapons near Christian towns

Published: 2006-08-31

SAFED, Israel (CNS) -- A Maronite Catholic who fled to Israel after the recent cease-fire said Hezbollah forces had cached weapons in the valleys all around his village in southern Lebanon. "We were always afraid, and during the war we were even more afraid, but we had no one to turn to," said Assad al-Raai, 42, a resident of the village of Dibbel, Lebanon, near the border with Israel. "We are not with Hezbollah and not (with) Israel. Hezbollah put their weapons around our village, next to us, and Israel bombed from wherever the (weapons were fired) and we were inside there. No one spoke to Hezbollah. We kept our distance from Hezbollah," he said. Al-Raai said the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah also used the residents of the nearby village, Rmaish, as human shields by placing weapons in the village and its vicinity. He said Hezbollah tore out the phone lines so residents could not call anyone for help. Hezbollah specifically used Christian villages as shields, believing Israel would not bomb them, he added.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .