Lebanese soldiers deployed in front of the FPM headquarters near Beirut on Sept. 2020, after scuffles with the Lebanese Forces. (Credit: Houssam Chbaro/File photo)
A scuffle escalated into gunfire Sunday afternoon in front of the headquarters of the Free Patriotic Movement in the Mirna Chalouhi center in the suburbs of Beirut. No casualties were reported in the incident.
According to several local media outlets, tensions rose during the passage of a funeral convoy affiliated to the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party led by Samir Geagea, the rival of the FPM leader Gebran Bassil, near the headquarters.
حسب جريدة النهار:
— RYAN (@ryan___RK) October 16, 2022
اطلاق نار واعتراض من عناصر التيار العوني امام مركز التيار ب ميرنا الشالوحي أثناء مرور جنازة الشاب إيدي كرنافيليان، الذي ينتمي الى القوات
الا ان أهالي الفقيد أصرّوا على استكمال طريقهم بإتجاه مدافن الأرمن.
وعلـــــمم وفــــهمم pic.twitter.com/e2om6TqMLr
The daily An-Nahar's news website published a purported video of the incident, but L'Orient-Le Jour was unable to verify the footage. In the footage, a group of people are seen carrying the coffin of a man who was allegedly affiliated with the Lebanese Forces. The coffin is drapped with an LF flag. The footage shows a crowd trying to move forward with the coffin before scuffles erupt, as well as shouting. Several men in plain clothes can be seen armed with assault rifles. However, the circulating video does not show any shooting.
L'Orient-Le Jour's efforts to reach a spokesperson for the Internal Security Forces, as well as spokespersons for the LF and the FPM on Sunday evening, were unsuccessful.
'What a shame!'
According to a man who spoke anonymously to An-Nahar and who was attending the funeral, armed members of the FPM guard refused to allow the funeral convoy pass as it headed to an Armenian cemetery not far from the party's headquarters.
"They asked the relatives of the deceased to move back because the coffin was covered with the flag of the LF," the man said. "They then opened fire in our direction to force us to back away, despite the presence of security forces who did not react, while victims could have fallen under the bullets," he added.
"Even death, they do not respect it ... What a disgrace!" the man added, referring to the alleged FPM shooters.
According to An-Nahar, the relatives of the deceased managed to continue their way to the cemetery half an hour after the incident. The police were then deployed to the scene to prevent any further violent outbursts, but the tension remained palpable, according to the daily.
In a statement sent on Sunday night to L'Orient-Le Jour, FPM said that the altercation was between supporters of the LF and security forces, not armed members from the FPM.
This incident comes at a time of rising political tension in the country, two weeks before the end of the mandate of the current head of state, President Michel Aoun, who is also the founder of the FPM. Both Geagea and Bassil are considered unofficial candidates for the presidency.
In 2016, the two rival parties sealed a political agreement that led to the election of Aoun to the presidency the same year. But since then, tensions have resurfaced and the political alliance has collapsed. In September 2020, an armed incident occurred in Mirna Chalouhi between LF and FPM supporters.
