LF urges state action after official killed in clash with Soldiers of God
The head of the Lebanese Forces’ dept. in Karm al-Zeitoun, Roland Murr, was killed overnight in an armed clash with the Soldiers of God group in Ashrafieh, media reports said.
The army deployed in the area afterwards and started pursuing those involved in the clash.
Some LF officials commented on the incident, with MP Pierre Bou Assi calling on caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to act.
“A thug who has money has armed followers and thugs who are attacking people’s lives. Mr. Prime Minister, what exactly do you intend to do?” Bou Assi said in a post on X. He was apparently referring to SGBL bank chairman Antoun Sehnaoui, who is accused of being the group's main financier.
The LF’s foreign relations dept. officer Richard Kouyoumjian for his part said: “The same as we rejected and still reject illegal arms in the hands of any party, we reject that God’s name be turned into a label exploited by a group of thug and murderous gunmen.”
Calling on judicial and security authorities to “pursue and try the outlaw Soldiers of God group,” Kouyoumjian emphasized that “Ashrafieh rejects these criminals.”
Soldiers of God is a small hardline Christian group that is mainly based in Ashrafieh and comprises around 150 members.
The group became known for its opposition to LGBT people and its violent actions against gay and lesbian associations and bars, as well as its opposition to Hezbollah.
The members of the group are often described as "muscular, tattooed, bearded, and often dressed in black," and are known for their religious fundamentalism. They claim not to be affiliated with any political party in Lebanon.
The group follows what it considers to be Christian law. In an interview with Radio Liban Libre, group leader Joseph Mansour said: "We are the children of Jesus, and we only follow the word of the Gospel.” They also claim to protect Christian lands from Islamists.
They first emerged publicly on June 24, 2022, when group members went to Sassine Square in Ashrafieh and destroyed a billboard of flowers with the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag, which was set up by Beirut Pride. The same afternoon the group published a video threatening the LGBTQ movement in Lebanon in which one member stated that, "We do not accept the flag of homosexuals in our neighborhoods” and “families must be careful with their children, they kidnap them.”
Following Israel’s detonation of booby-trapped pagers carried by Hezbollah members in Lebanon in September, Soldiers of God members donated blood to support the victims. A member said back then that despite political differences with Hezbollah, "We are the children of one country and family, and blood will never turn into water."
Source: Naharnet
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