The family of a soldier who defected from the Lebanese Army made a desperate appeal to their son to return home, asking the military to refrain from prosecuting him if he decided to do so.
The family of Abdallah Shehadeh, who reportedly defected from the Army to join the Nusra Front Friday, invited reporters to their home in the north Lebanon village of Mashha.
His weeping mother repeatedly asked her son to return home, defending her family against allegations of extremism.
Samar Alloush, dressed in a green veil, said that her son had left for service Friday morning after she had given him sweets to offer his colleagues for Eid al-Adha.
Abdallah was stationed in the in the northeast Lebanon town of Arsal, where the Lebanese Army is battling the extremist ISIS and Nusra Front, which sought to overrun the town in August.
The clashes in August left 19 soldiers dead, and Nusra Front and ISIS took at least 31 soldiers and policemen hostage.
“I sacrificed so much to raise you and I will walk barefoot in the desert until you return because I only live for you. If you care for me, please come back home,” the distraught mother cried, surrounded by Abdallah’s four brothers who are waiting to enlist in the Army.
Addressing Nusra Front, the mother asked the group to return her son home "because he is sick and cannot fight."
Shehade’s uncle, Ahmad Shehadeh, said the family was religious and that many of its members were soldiers.
"We never raised Abdallah or any of our children on extremist values. We are religious, but we are loyal to the nation and the military institution,” he said.
An-Nahar reported that the Lebanese Army had lost contact Friday with one of their Humvees in the Bekaa Valley that Shahadeh was driving at the time.
Shehadeh is the second soldier reported to have defected from the Army in two days.
On Friday, Nusra Front announced that Mohammad Antar had defected from the military and joined its ranks.
Speaking to The Daily Star Friday, a military official acknowledged that Antar had defected on Oct. 3.
The Nusra Front and ISIS have called on Sunni soldiers to abandon the Lebanese Army, accusing it of working closely with Hezbollah and attacking Syrian refugees in retaliation for the August clashes.
The head of Mashha municipality, Zakariya al-Zohbi, described Shahadeh's defection was an individual act, saying the town was known for its undying support for the Army.
"The man is known in the town as a nice military personnel and the son of a family that is devoted to the military institution, and we have never noticed any abnormal behavior,” Zohbi said in a statement. "Everyone is shocked.”
"Mashha is known for supporting the Lebanese Army, and there are no terrorist organizations here or any groups that oppose the Army.”
The mayor also denied reports that the Army had raided the town following news of the soldier's defection.
