ALBAWABA - Following days of intense clashes between Hezbollah and Christian factions over an overturned truck of ammunition.
In his sermon on Sunday, Christian cleric Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai called for “all parties” and other elements of the country "to unite under the banner of the state, especially regarding the use of weapons".
“It is not possible to live on one land with more than one state, more than one legitimate army, more than one authority, and more than one sovereignty,” Al-Rai added.
A Hezbollah member and a Christian resident were killed in a gunfight in the village of Kahaleh, near Beirut, on Wednesday, which began when a Hezbollah truck carrying weaponry overturned while passing through the village.
That incident is not the first of its kind involving such trucks passing through the town. The contents of the truck remained unknown, leading the Lebanese army to restrict access to the area at the time.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati closely monitored the situation and urged expedited investigations, in collaboration with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. Residents of Al-Khahaleh later released a statement stating that armed individuals had fired upon the town's residents, resulting in the death of a young man. In response, they have chosen to block the road in both directions.
