Tension in the Chouf area of Mount Lebanon further complicated the cabinet formation process, amid a deadlock caused by the demands of the Hezbollah-backed March 8 alliance’s Sunni deputies for a representation.
Mohamad Abu Diab, a bodyguard of former minister of Wiam Wahhab, was buried after succumbing to wounds sustained during a gunfire that erupted as the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch carried out a raid on Wahhab’s home based on a judicial summons from the state prosecutor.
Wahhab, who heads the Tawhid Party, was summoned to court on charges of inciting strife and civil peace after he made disparaging remarks against slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his son PM-designate Saad Hariri.
Gunmen loyal to Wahhab prevented the security forces from escorting the former minister from his home in the Chouf village of Jahilieh, leading to the armed clash.
Druze-inhabited mountainous areas referred to as Jabal ara "a red line and the safety of Lebanon is a red line,” Wahhab said during Abu Diab’s burial.
The head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, Druze MP Talal Arslan, mocked on Sunday the ISF Information Branch and described its presence in Jahilieh as a “parade.”
A day earlier, another Druze leader and head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblat, visited Hariri in a show of support and said he backed any measure that cements civil peace.
MP Bilal Abdullah from the PSP parliamentary bloc told Asharq Al-Awsat there was no intra-Druze confrontation following Saturday’s incident.
“Any confrontation needs two parties. The PSP is neither a side nor a party to the conflict,” he said.
Caretaker Justice Minister Selim Jreissati said in a statement that a full investigation will be carried out by the judiciary.
On the cabinet stalemate, caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachi visited Hariri and conveyed a message from Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea that the LF is keen on maintaining stability, and forming the government as soon as possible to ensure stability.
The PM-designate's al-Mustaqbal Movement said last week the Hariris were being targeted by "a campaign of falsehoods" hatched by "sick minds" bent on destabilizing Lebanon and obstructing efforts to form the new government.
The tension has cast another shadow over efforts to form a new national unity government more than six months since an election, with a new demand emerging by the March 8 alliance's Sunni MPs to have a portfolio in the cabinet.
