Fears of inter-Druze strife in Lebanon escalated Sunday following the killing of two of the bodyguards of Minister of State for Displaced Affairs Saleh al-Gharib in a shootout that erupted in conjunction with the visit of Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to Aley.
A third bodyguard and a member of the former MP Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) were also injured.
The dispute broke out as PSP supporters were protesting against Bassil’s visit to Sheikh Nassereddine al-Gharib in Kfar Matta in the Aley district of Mount Lebanon, which the minister later canceled.
Protesters blocked the passage of the minister’s motorcade and the two sides exchanged fire.
The deceased bodyguards were Samer Abi Farraj and Rami Salman.
Bassil’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) spoke of tension “two days ago”, while the PSP said Gharib’s bodyguards began to fire arbitrarily at those protesting the foreign minister’s visit.
Jumblatt, who is outside the country, commented on the incident in a tweet: “I will not enter into any media debate about what happened. I demand an investigation into the incident away from the media.”
In an attempt to contain the situation, Prime Minister Saad Hariri held a series of contacts with Bassil, PSP officials and the Democratic Party, led by MP Talal Arslan, focusing on the need to stop any escalation and to exert utmost efforts to calm the tension and maintain stability, as confirmed by ministerial sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat.
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