Aoun says airport road riots 'won't be repeated'

President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that he supports “the freedom of peaceful expression,” but stressed that “the violations that occurred days ago, such as the blocking of roads and attacks on the army and citizens, are unacceptable practices and will not be repeated.”

“I reiterate that no one in Lebanon will be excluded, seeing as the state protects all sects and not the contrary,” Aoun said in a meeting with a delegation from the Maronite League.

“What happened in the South negatively affected entire Lebanon, and the claim that the Shiite sect is besieged is totally baseless, seeing as we’re all one body and one environment. We paid the price of war and together we will face the challenges,” Aoun added.

“We will achieve the needed economic, financial and social reforms to secure foreign countries’ cooperation with us, because the responsibility falls on us and not on others,” the president went on to say.