Qahwaji Says Army Will Not Allow Situation to Deteriorate
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji urged officials on Monday to end sedition in the country, saying the Lebanese are holding onto their government and army.
“The problem is with the political rhetoric which is the reason behind the sedition and the tension” among the Lebanese, Qahwaji told al-Joumhouria newspaper.
He stressed that the army will not allow the situation to deteriorate in the North or in any other area across Lebanon.
“The army is there to protect the residents not to attack them,” Qahwaji told the daily.
He offered his condolences over the death of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and his companion Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Merheb in Akkar.
Qahwaji urged everyone not to forestall the investigations and let the law take its course.
On Sunday, Abdul Wahed was shot dead along with his companion at an army checkpoint in the northern Akkar town of al-Kweikhat.
He was to make a speech at a rally that was scheduled to be held in Halba. The event was called off.
Military sources told As Safir newspaper that the army would “never shoot anyone without a reason.”
The sources noted that a soldier was wounded, and some vehicles were damaged, which means that there was an exchange of fire and the convoy included armed men.
However, a security official said on Sunday that the army troops shot dead Abdul Wahed when his convoy failed to stop at the checkpoint, while Mustaqbal bloc MP Khaled al-Daher said that army troops deliberately opened fire at the clergyman.
The army checkpoints are spreading across Lebanon and none witnessed a similar accident, the sources pointed out in comments published in As Safir.
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