The Lebanese government vowed on Monday to restore security
to an area of a deadly shooting that has stirred fear of renewed strife in the
Chouf Mountains, one of the bloodiest theaters of the 1975-90 civil war.
Two aides of government minister Saleh al-Gharib, the state
minister for refugee affairs, were killed on Sunday in the incident in the Aley
region in what he termed an attempted assassination.
Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council, which includes the
president and security chiefs, said it had taken “decisive” measures to restore
security to the area and bring to justice those involved.
“This is to bury strife, safeguard the prestige of the state
and to spare innocent blood,” the council said in a statement, adding that the
decisions would remain secret.
No arrests have been announced yet.
The incident spiraled as supporters of Walid Jumblatt,
Lebanon’s main Druze leader, protested against a planned visit to the area by
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, a Maronite Christian and Jumblatt adversary. He
ultimately canceled the visit, saying he wanted to avoid any security problem.
Gharib, a Druze politician, is politically aligned with
Bassil and backed by Jumblatt’s Druze rival Talal Arslan.
Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) has accused
Gharib’s bodyguards of opening fire on the protesters, leading to an exchange
of fire in which two PSP supporters were also wounded.
Arslan, in a televised news conference, said the state must
act. “If the state does not strike with an iron fist there will be negative
repercussions in more than one area,” he said.
The historic rivalry between Arslan and Jumblatt has
surfaced on numerous fronts of late, including the tussle for Druze cabinet
posts in Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s national unity government.
The families of the men killed on Sunday have said they will
not bury them until the perpetrators are handed over.
The Chouf witnessed years of fighting between Christian and
Druze militias in the civil war, leading to the displacement of the Christian
population. Some have returned under government-backed “reconciliation”
agreements.
