Qabbani, al-Rahi Call for Joint Efforts to Prevent More Fighting

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi agreed on Monday to coordinate with the rest of the country's religious leaders to prevent strife.

A statement issued by Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's top Sunni religious authority, said Qabbani telephoned al-Rahi and congratulated him on his safe return to Lebanon from a month-long trip abroad.

Qabbani and al-Rahi “discussed the latest dangerous incidents in Lebanon and the region,” said the statement.

They agreed on “the necessity to work with the rest of the religious leaders in Lebanon to prevent the Lebanese from sliding to fighting against the backdrop of the situation in the region.”

They also called for “putting off sectarian strife.”

The statement came amid rapidly evolving security incidents in Lebanon.

The northern city of Tripoli emerged on Monday from a deadly fighting between Sunnis and Alawites. On Sunday, two rockets hit the Hizbullah stronghold of Beirut's southern suburbs, tearing through an apartment and car dealership and wounding four Syrian workers.

The southern city of Sidon has also witnessed skirmishes in addition to deadly incidents in Lebanese border villages and towns, which are witnessing rocket attacks from Syria, the result of fighting between government troops and rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.