Lebanese army and security forces patrol Christian areas of Beirut in case of unrest and to prevent pogroms.
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According to the acting Minister of Internal Affairs of the republic, Bassam Mavlawi, the authorities took these measures after several cases of attacks on Syrians working in Lebanon.
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“We are doing everything to calm the situation and prevent internecine strife,” the acting chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said, whose words are quoted in the department’s telegram channel.
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Protests in Christian neighborhoods began after the announcement of the murder of Pascal Sleiman, a member of the opposition Lebanese Forces (LF) party.
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His funeral will take place on Friday in the city of Byblos. According to the official version, the Christian politician was shot dead on April 7 by members of a gang involved in stealing prestigious cars, and his body was taken to neighboring Syria. Authorities detained seven Syrians involved in the crime.
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LS leader Samir Jaajaa, however, demanded a thorough judicial investigation, calling Sleiman’s murder a political crime. On April 8, unrest broke out in Byblos, Kesrouan, Metn and a number of other areas, which was accompanied by violent incidents against immigrants from Syria. The army and police put an end to the unrest, and the LS leadership called on its supporters to stop street protests and wait for the results of the investigation.
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Tensions now remain at the junction of Christian and Shiite neighborhoods in eastern Beirut, where army mechanized patrols are concentrated. A number of representatives of the Christian opposition suggested on social networks that the Shiite Hezbollah party, which is a political opponent of the LS, could have been involved in the murder of Sleiman. However, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah rejected such speculation, calling it “incitement to civil strife.”
