The US Embassy in Beirut stressed on Wednesday Washington’s support of a fair and transparent judicial review without any political interference in the June 30 incident in the village of Qabr Shmoun in Mount Lebanon’s Aley district.
The embassy’s position was a rare and unprecedented statement related to a local Lebanese political and judicial affair.
Lebanon was plunged in a political crisis after two bodyguards of State Minister for the Displaced Saleh al-Gharib, who is close to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, were killed when his convoy came under fire in Qabr Shmoun on June 30.
The case was referred to the Military Court last month.
“Any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in Qabr Shmoun to advance political objectives should be rejected,” the embassy said.
The US has conveyed in clear terms to Lebanese authorities its expectation that they will handle this matter in a way that achieves justice without politically motivated inflammation of sectarian or communal tensions, it added.
Prominent political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat Washington’s decision to take a public stance from a local crisis, “means that Lebanon has entered a very critical phase” and the US predicts future risks.
The sources added that the statement includes an “implicit warning” of the repercussions of the escalating crisis and that the country was at a crossroads, prompting it to deliver its remarks.
Lokman Slim, a political activist and co-director at UMAM Documentation and Research, told Asharq Al-Awsat that it was uncommon for the embassy to comment on each political or security development in Lebanon.
“However, the latest development has led to an unprecedented political stalemate and therefore, Washington, as part of its constant support for the country’s stability, is trying to find a solution,” he noted.
