Suleiman Calls for Solidarity among Lebanese to Confront Terrorist Schemes

President Michel Suleiman urged on Monday the Lebanese to be aware amid the critical stage the country is passing through.

The president also called for solidarity among the Lebanese in order to confront the terrorist plots targeting innocent people and that aim at destabilizing the country.

Suleiman stressed during a separate meeting with Army Intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Edmond Fadel the importance of cooperation between the security forces to unveil the culprits behind the security chaos in the country and to maintain stability.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber blew up a car rigged with explosives at an army checkpoint at the entrance to Hermel, in an attack that was claimed by a group calling itself al-Nusra Front in Lebanon, an apparent offshoot of the Syria-based extremist organization.

Suleiman also discussed with Prime Minister Tammam Salam the latest developments locally and the meetings of the panel tasked with drafting the cabinet's policy statement.

On Friday, the panel held its third meeting at the Grand Serail as the controversial “army-people-resistance equation” remained a point of contention among the committee members.

PM Salam chaired the committee's first meeting on Wednesday after it was formed Tuesday during the cabinet's first session.

Salam has announced that the policy statement will be “consensual and concise and will focus on (the country's) priorities prior to the election of a new president.