Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Friday reaffirmed the reconciliation among Lebanese after the 1975-90 civil war, before the funeral of a cabinet minister’s aide killed last week as political tensions flared.
“Reconciliation in the mountains is fixed and we do not want Lebanon to become a country of cantons,” he tweeted.
Two aides to Refugee Affairs Minister Saleh al-Gharib, a member of the Druze sect, were shot dead on Sunday as Gharib’s convoy drove through a mountainous area where a rival Druze faction holds sway.
The incident has inflamed tensions between the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) of Lebanon’s main Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, and his historic Druze rival Talal Arslan, who is close to the government of neighboring Syria and backs Gharib.
The PSP has accused Gharib’s bodyguards of opening fire on Sunday. Gharib has said he was the target of an “armed ambush”.
The incident spiraled as Jumblatt’s supporters protested against a planned visit to the area by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, an adversary of Jumblatt who is aligned with Gharib. Bassil eventually canceled his visit.
Aoun, Bassil’s father-in-law, said in another tweet that there should be no no-go areas, especially for public representatives, and that Sunday’s events must not be repeated.
Speaking at Rami Salman’s funeral, Arslan urged supporters not to fire into the air - but added that, if the government did not fulfill its duty, he would not be responsible for what happened.
He and allies including Bassil have called for the case to be handed to a senior judicial council that deals with crimes against state security. Prime Minister Saad Hariri and others have said the normal judicial process should take its course.
The funeral of the other aide will take place on Saturday.
