Strict Measures by Army in Akkar after Threatening Leaflets Found in Church

The army took strict security measures on Friday in the Akkar region in general and al-Qubayyat in particular in a bid to reassure the residents after threatening leaflets were found inside a church in the northern town, state-run National News Agency reported.

The army is “conducting investigations in the area with the aim of identifying those behind the leaflets,” said NNA.

According to An Nahar newspaper, three copies of the leaflet were found inside the Saydet al-Ghassaleh Church in al-Qubayyat’s eastern sector.

The leaflet is titled “Statement Number One” and signed by a group calling itself “The Soldiers of the Greatest Prophet,” said An Nahar.

The leaflet calls on “blasphemers” to “renounce their blasphemy.”

“We will start from the hub and stronghold of blasphemers in Akkar and we will not stop. This will not be the end, but rather the beginning,” those behind the leaflet warned.

Meanwhile, Akkar MP Hadi Hbeish told the Central News Agency that “what happened in al-Qubayyat is suspicious.”

“The leaflets' content has nothing to do with the Islamic religion as it contained erroneously written Quranic verses and a mix of Sunni and Shiite literature,” Hbeish added.

For its part, the Lebanese Forces’ department in Akkar condemned the leaflets, describing them as suspicious.

“The objectives are obvious, but they have not and will not terrorize us,” the department added, stressing that nothing can affect religious coexistence in the area.

The department also noted that “these acts will not affect (Maronite) Patriarch (Beshara) al-Rahi’s planned visit to Akkar, which is welcomed by all residents in Akkar.”

“Such threats will not scare us and we will carry on with our preparations for Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s visit to Akkar,” Archbishop of Tripoli George Bou Jawdeh told Radio Voice of Lebanon (93.3).

“This stance was reached following yesterday’s meeting with Patriarch al-Rahi who insisted that he will embark on the visit on August 13 and will not bow to such threats,” Bou Jawdeh added.

Al-Rahi is scheduled to visit Akkar on August 13, 14 and 15.