BEIRUT – The Future Movement, major anti-Syrian group, denied on Friday having any link with Salafist movements. The statement is a reply against “testimonials” of Salafist group members, just the night before, alleged to be behind Damascus September’s attack.

Ahmed Fatfat, a leader in the Future Movement, told AFP that “these are just false allegations orchestrated by the Syrian Intelligence showing they are strongly tied to Fatah al-Islam”.

17 persons died and 67 wounded on September 27, in a suicide attack in Damascus.

The Syrian television broadcast on Thursday evening “testimonials” of the attack perpetrators who introduced themselves as members of the radical Sunni group Fatah al-Islam.
Among them, there was the daughter of the group’s leader Shaker al-Abssi, who said that the Future Movement had “ties with Salafist movements” (supporters of a rigorist Islam), which financed by said political movement and Saudi nationals.

Fatfat added that “it’s a critical threat from Syria. I fear it will not carry out operations destabilizing the security of North Lebanon and other regions”.

He pointed out that “we are stepping into a very dangerous phase and I already called on my colleagues in the Future Movement and other parties to be extremely vigilant”, with reference to series of attacks targeting many senior anti-Syrian Lebanese personalities along the three past years.

He said “If they can prove it, let them give these evidences to the Arab or international watchdog and we will be the first to be delighted at knowing the truth in this regard”.

In fact, in the summer of 2007, three-month-clashes opposed Fatah al-Islam to the Lebanese Army in the Palestinian Refugees camp of Nahr el-Bared, North Lebanon, before the group was defeated.
At that time, the House majority members had blamed Syrian Intelligence for backing the group.