BEIRUT, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Minister of State for Human Rights Affairs, Ayman Choucair, called Thursday for a "transparent probe" into the arrest and death of four Syrian detainess.
The four were detained in a sweeping security raid last week in refugee settlements in and around the border town of Arsal that netted 355 Syrians.
"To preserve the army's image and to prevent any rumors that may be malicious, we ask the competent leadership and judiciary to open a transparent investigation into all the recently circulated pictures and news about the recent arrests in Arsal and the reasons that led to the death of a number of detainees," Minister Choucair said in a statement.
Choucair said that the government's decision to ask the army to investigate the death of detainees is to maintain transparency.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri also raised the issue during Wednesday's cabinet session, noting that the army's announcement that four detainees had died due to chronic health problems has "raised question marks" in Lebanon and abroad, al-Hayat pan-Arab newspaper reported.
"Defense Minister Yacoub Sarraf would then brief cabinet on the outcome before announcing the results in a press conference," al-Hayat added.
A Syrian opposition group and international and local human rights organizations on Wednesday also called for the investigation.
Army said they were met with a string of suicide attacks and grenades that left seven of them wounded and a Syrian child dead.
