Report: Sons of Hezbollah commanders sent to Europe to evade Syria fighting

Opposing Hezbollah's war in Syria and fearing for their sons' lives, many Hezbollah militiamen send their sons to seek refuge in Europe.

By MAAYAN GROISMAN
Updated: MAY 2, 2016 10:35
The son of Hezbollah operative Abbas Hijazi, who died in an airstrike in Quneitra, carries a toy weapon as he stands between his father's (R) and grandfather's (L) coffins in Ghaziyeh village (photo credit: REUTERS)
The son of Hezbollah operative Abbas Hijazi, who died in an airstrike in Quneitra, carries a toy weapon as he stands between his father's (R) and grandfather's (L) coffins in Ghaziyeh village
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Senior commanders in Hezbollah are smuggling their sons to Europe to prevent the Lebanese terror organization from recruiting them to fight in Syria against the rebel factions, the Egyptian news site Arabi 21 reported Monday.
According to the report, the phenomenon of young Shi'ite men fleeing to Europe from Lebanon emerged last year, after Hezbollah militiamen saw their organization suffering heavy blows in Syria. Knowing that Hezbollah would coerce their sons to participate in the war efforts, especially in the regions of Aleppo, Daraa, Homs and Damascus, they helped them to flee en masse to Europe.
Opposing Hezbollah's intervention in Syria and fearing for their sons' lives in light of the great losses the organization has been suffering on Aleppo's battlefield, many Hezbollah militiamen send their sons to seek refuge in Europe and South America, according to the report.
The fact that Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah unequivocally refuses to withdraw from Syria, regarding it as an "existential issue" for the organization increases their will to prevent their sons from taking part in the Syrian atrocities.
Mohammad Abbas, a Shi'ite Lebanese who currently resides in Belgium, told Arabi 21: "I had lived with my family in Beqqa province. After Hezbollah started gathering all the youth in the Shi'ite villages to train them for the war in Syria, my family sent me with a group of friends to seek refuge in Europe."
"Our families provided us with financial aid to help us reach Europe. We flew from Beirut to Belarus, where we stayed a few days, and afterwards we headed to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris," Abbas said.