The General Secretariat of Catholic Schools in Lebanon has declared the closure of all its educational institutions this Friday, announcing it as a "day of prayer for the salvation of Lebanon."
The Lebanese Forces official was likely killed by Hezbollah © Mena Today
The General Secretariat of Catholic Schools in Lebanon has declared the closure of all its educational institutions this Friday, announcing it as a "day of prayer for the salvation of Lebanon."
This comes just six days after the murder of Pascal Sleiman, head of the Lebanese Forces (LF) office in the Jbeil district. A funeral mass is set to be held today at Saint George's Church in Jbeil, officiated by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï.
The statement from the Catholic schools, which was echoed by several local media outlets, "strongly condemns the acts of murder and any violation of human dignity" as well as "the prevailing security disorder" in Lebanon, signaling a tense period following the incident.
Two days after Sleiman's disappearance, the Lebanese Army reported that he had been killed by Syrian mafiosos, a claim contested by the LF who see it as a "political assassination until proven otherwise ».
Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï raised the stakes Sunday, declaring that southern Lebanon "is not a bargaining chip." In his Sunday homily in Mayfouk, in the Jbeil district, the cardinal called for the "protection" of the region, insisting that such protection "begins with the state holding a monopoly on weapons », a thinly veiled call for Hezbollah's disarmament.
The head of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon said on Saturday it was critical to ensure other UN agencies and Lebanese troops could assume the tasks carried out by the force before it begins withdrawing at the end of this year.
European and Arab military chiefs will meet in Paris on Thursday to assess the Lebanese Armed Forces' needs and discuss the looming end of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, amid fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.