The DNA tests on Wednesday verified that the remains found near the Lebanese-Syrian border belong to the missing army men and a national day of mourning was declared on Friday. The relatives of the slain servicemen were informed of the results during a close-door meeting by the Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun.

In the mean time, President Aoun has called on the authorities to open an investigation into the 2014 abduction of Lebanese soldiers by terrorist groups “out of respect for truth as a human value, for the martyrdom of the martyrs and for the plight of their families, and to prevent accusations against any innocent person over major national issues that targeted our armed forces and bloodied the hearts of the Lebanese”.

Calling for an investigation is a bold move but will justice be served? Will those who facilitated the work of terrorists and stopped the army from freeing the soldiers be put in jail? Are we going to arrest the MPs and Sheikhs who were protecting terrorists and criminals against the army?

I honestly doubt it. I really want to believe a serious investigation will be conducted but given how many parties are involved directly or indirectly, this is not getting anywhere and assuming it did, those affected will start asking for further investigations into other incidents and it would turn into an ugly political/electoral battle that will eventually be settled behind closed doors.

I am sure the families of the martyred Lebanese soldiers are aware of that and they just want their sons to be remembered as the heroes they were. Some parents are refusing to leave their tents in Beirut until the truth is unveiled, but the Lebanese state is not ready to handle the truth.

Let us all pay them homage on Friday and hope that we won’t have to deal with such situations again.