US Embassy shooting, Mikati’s UN address, attempted femicide: Everything you need to know to start your Friday

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An Internal Security Forces source confirmed to L’Orient Today yesterday that the “small arms fire” reported near the US Embassy on Wednesday evening was in fact over a dozen bullets fired from a Kalashnikov. The source confirmed that an investigation was ongoing. Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib condemned the incident and vowed to hold the attackers accountable. A judicial official confirmed to AFP that authorities seized ammunition presumably left by the shooter and that a military court had been assigned to the case. A security official surmised that the shooting was intended to “send a specific message.” Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati also condemned the incident, saying, “It is not permissible for anyone to resort to old methods of conveying political messages.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s Wednesday address at the 78th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly called for an end to Lebanon’s presidential vacuum and expressed the “threat” posed by the influx of migrants into the country. Mikati thanked the “Group of Five” — the United States, Saudi Arabia, France, Egypt and Qatar — for their “role” in attempting to overcome the electoral impasse. Representatives from the five countries met a day earlier to “take stock” of French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s meetings with Lebanese politicians a week prior. Mikati said Lebanon is “crumbling” due to the “economic and social consequences” caused by “successive waves of immigration.” The Lebanese Army announced yesterday that it had thwarted mass illegal border crossings from Syria to Lebanon for yet another week.

The United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) commander, General Aroldo Lazaro, said the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 is a “collective responsibility.” Lazaro affirmed UNIFIL’s peacekeeping role, calling for “the commitment of different parties.” Last month, the UN Security Council renewed the peacekeepers’ mandate, keeping an article that drew criticism from Hezbollah for allowing UNIFIL to circulate without Lebanese Army approval. Resolution 1701 ended the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and necessitated significant army deployment in the area of southern Lebanon controlled by UNIFIL. Since the start of the year, border violations have increased along the Lebanese-Israeli border, resulting in rocket crossfire and both sides lodging complaints to the UN.

A woman is in critical condition after her husband allegedly attempted to murder her before dying by suicide, an Internal Security Forces spokesperson confirmed to L’Orient Today. L’Orient Today’s correspondent reported that the man attempted to cut his wife’s throat before fatally stabbing himself. Suicides and femicides have become more frequent in Lebanon and women’s rights associations have denounced an “unprecedented” level of violence against women in recent months.

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “What you need to know about MBS’s interview with Fox News”

Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz