LF files judicial complaint against Soldiers of God, calls it a 'secret association'

The Lebanese Forces announced Thursday that it has filed a judicial complaint against Soldiers of God -- a small, fundamentalist Christian group that is accused of being financed by the banker Antoun Sehnaoui.

Calling the group a “secret association”, the LF accused the group and its members of “involvement in a series of serious crimes that threaten security and civil peace.”

The complaint included accusations of establishing a secret association, establishing a criminal association, inciting sectarian strife and sedition, premeditated murder, rioting, intellectual property crimes, and possession of weapons and ammunition without a license.

"This group is hiding behind a religious cover to achieve illegal goals," the complaint said, stressing "the need for the judicial and security authorities to move quickly and decisively to put a final end to its criminal activities and prevent it from continuing to threaten civil peace and public order."

The head of the LF’s dept. in Ashrafieh’s Karm al-Zeitoun, Roland Murr, was killed in an armed clash with Soldiers of God members in early December.

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 land 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."