LF on Ehden Incident: Civil Peace is a Red Line

The Lebanese Forces on Sunday called on the residents of the northern areas of Ehden and Zghorta to “exercise restraint and avoid anything that may disrupt calm in the region,” following the gunfight Sunday morning in Ehden which left three people wounded.

The LF stressed in a communiqué the need to “renounce violence and weapons in any dispute,” noting that “only the Lebanese security and judicial authorities are entitled to resolve conflicts and fulfill justice.”

The party also called on the residents of the area to resort to the relevant judicial authorities and to await the outcome of investigations.

Concluding its communiqué, the LF called for “maintaining calm and stability in all Lebanese areas,” stressing that “civil peace is a red line.”

The guards of the house of former President Suleiman Franjieh and drunk men exchanged fire in the northern town of Ehden at dawn Sunday, injuring three people, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said that two guards – Butros Mikhael Iskandar and Bakhos Ibrahim Jerjes – were injured in the incident that erupted at 5:00 am with two drunken occupants of a vehicle.

The two men were speeding near the mansion when one of the guards stopped them asking about their inappropriate behavior, the agency said. One of the drunk men hit the guard while the other shot at him, which forced the guards to open fire at them.

One of the occupants identified as Naim al-Doueihy was also injured, NNA said.

It added that the army immediately intervened and cordoned off the area.

Marada movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh said in a statement later Sunday that the shooting near his grandfather’s house should not be exaggerated and that the incident would not affect the tourism season in Ehden.

Later on Sunday, al-Doueihy family issued a statement following a meeting at the residence of lawyer Youssef Bahaa al-Doueihy in Ehden.

The conferees accused “some people of distorting the facts through some media outlets,” noting that “the incident started when armed militiamen positioned on the public road opened fire on the passing cars.”

“What happened was not aimed at attacking a certain politician, as some have tried to portray the incident and are trying to exploit it,” al-Doueihy family said in the statement.

“We hope security and judicial institutes will not apply double standards … especially that some consider the defense ministry to be a farm, and we stress that we will abide by the law as much as those in charge of the case will abide by objectivity and neutrality,” the family added.

“We remind them that their regional sponsor had never managed to scare us, even during the epitome of its occupation of Lebanon … We will not tolerate any attack on people’s dignities,” it warned.