SSNP supporters parading in Hamra in May 2021. (Credit: Nabil Ismail/Annahar/archive photo)
BEIRUT — A branch of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) denied a statement that circulated online Thursday announcing it had removed former party leader and minister Assaad Hardan.
L'Orient-Le Jour was unable to reach the rival branch of SSNP, which is currently headed by Rabih Banat. Hardan was also not immediately available for comment
"Assaad Hardan has been expelled from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party's ranks," the statement circulating Thursday said, without providing further details.
Several hours later, the media office of the branch known for its proximity to Hardan denied the information. "The decision published by the gang that impersonates the party has no value," it said.
The announcement comes after rival factions of the SSNP clashed in Beit Chebab, in the Metn region, last week. The incident, which did not result in any injuries, involved supporters of Hardan and supporters of current SSNP chairman Rabih Banat.
"A party office being renovated was ransacked and invaded twice by armed groups affiliated with a personality whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent and the money of the public treasury," a party statement said.
A former SSNP spokesman, who requested anonymity, told L'Orient-Le Jour that the statement was meant to implicate Assad Hardan.
In February 2021, a handful of armed pro-Hardan militiamen occupied a party office in Batroun, North Lebanon, creating tension in the city.
The SSNP was split in two during the early days of the Lebanese Civil War, divided between a reformist branch close to Palestinian factions and another close to Syria, before being reunited in 1978.
Since the death of its former leader, Antoun Saadeh, who was sentenced to death and executed on July 8, 1949, the SSNP has experienced recurrent disagreements over the best way to lead the party.