By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – the president of Lebanon Joseph Aoun on Sunday stressed in a statement that the attack on UN convoy such acts must not be repeated, warned that security forces will not tolerate any attempts to undermine stability and civil peace.
Joseph Aoun strongly condemned the attack on a UN Interim Force in Lebanon convoy, which occurred a day earlier on the airport road in Beirut, along with other security incidents in the capital, called them “unacceptable” and “deplorable.”
He directed the army and security forces to restore order, reopen blocked roads, remove obstacles, and pursue those responsible for the unrest. Authorities have already launched field investigations and begun making arrests, he added.
Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar said that over 25 individuals are in now custody with the Lebanese Army Intelligence for investigation, with another detainee held by the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces.
“This does not mean these detainees carried out the attack… but the investigations will show who is responsible,” he added.
According to UNIFIL the violence broke out Friday evening when a group of young men attacked a UN-marked vehicle, assaulted its occupants, and torched three UNIFIL cars.
A high-ranking UNIFIL officer was injured, media reported.
The incidents came after the protests held over the refusal to allow an Iranian plane carrying Lebanese passengers to land in Beirut.
Lebanese aviation authorities barred an Iranian passenger flight from landing at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, the only operational international airport in Lebanon, after an Israeli claim that Iran had been using the airport to “smuggle funds to Hezbollah.”
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