Hezbollah and Amal distance themselves from protesters' attack on UNIFIL

Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement appeared to be scrambling to distance themselves from Friday's attack on UNIFIL vehicles near Beirut's airport.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV said in a statement posted on its social media accounts that “unruly elements caused chaos with suspicious objectives on the Beirut airport road.”

The Amal Movement, the political party of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said in a statement that "an attack on UNIFIL is an attack on southern Lebanon and the blocking of roads anywhere is a stab against civil peace," calling for the army and security forces to pursue the perpetrators and strike with an "iron fist."