The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has categorically dismissed allegations of involvement in the recent deadly clashes in Syria, describing the accusations as “baseless.”
In a statement released on Saturday, Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office urged media outlets to exercise caution in reporting news and avoid misinformation campaigns that serve foreign political agendas.
“Some parties persist in involving Hezbollah’s name in the events taking place in Syria and accusing it of being a party to the ongoing conflict there,” it said. “Hezbollah clearly and categorically denies these baseless allegations.”
The statement came two days after the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants of the interim ruling regime in Syria and armed opposition groups engaged in deadly confrontations.
The clashes took place in the country’s northwestern coastal region, which is predominantly inhabited by the Alawite minority sect. Former Syrian President Bashar Assad also comes from the Alawite community.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said more than 1,000 people were killed in two days of fighting in the provinces of Tartus and Latakia.
The figure included 745 civilians, who were killed mostly execution-style, in addition to 125 HTS militants and 148 members of opposition groups, the UK-based monitor added.
Another monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said the HTS militants committed “widespread field executions” of young men and adult males “without clear distinction between civilians and others.”
The violence broke out three months after foreign-backed HTS militants announced the fall of Assad’s government following a rapid two-week onslaught.