Outgoing Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry. (Credit: Flickr file photo/Lebanese Parliament)
BEIRUT — Outgoing Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called on the Lebanese on Monday to refrain from shooting in the air to celebrate the election of a new Parliament speaker, a position to which it is almost certain Berri will be re-elected on Tuesday.
Here’s what we know:
• Berri addressed “the Lebanese of all regions,” asking them “not to shoot” after the election of a speaker. “Bullets fired in the air have already transformed moments of joy into moments of sorrow,” he continued in the statement, alluding to incidents in which individuals have been accidentally injured or killed by such gunfire.
• Celebratory gunfire is a common custom in Lebanon. After the general elections on May 15, several people, including children, were injured by stray bullets.