Two bodyguards of a Lebanese Druze minister, who is close to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, were killed on Sunday when his convoy came under fire in a mountain area near Beirut.
Saleh al-Gharib, Lebanon's minister of state for refugee affairs, is a member of the Lebanese Democratic Party headed by Druze leader Talal Arslan.
In remarks to a television station, Gharib said "what happened was an armed ambush and a clear assassination attempt".
He said he was heading to the mountain village of Qabr Shamoun near the town of Aley when his convoy came under fire.
The Lebanese army sent reinforcements to the area.
It was not clear who opened fire, but the area was tense Sunday as supporters of Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt closed roads to prevent Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil from touring the region.
Jumblatt said he didn’t want to engage in a media dispute with any side, calling for an investigation into the attack.
President Michel Aoun called for an emergency meeting of the Higher Defense Council at Baabda Palace on Monday.
