The headquarters of the municipality of Beirut (right), in the center of the capital. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP archives)
BEIRUT — Public administrations and institutions, as well as municipalities, will be closed from April 10 to 13, inclusive, to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced on Tuesday evening.
On Monday evening, the Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdellatif Deriane, Lebanon's highest Sunni authority, announced that the first day of Fitr would fall on Wednesday. A few days earlier, Shiite Sheikh Ali Fadlallah had also declared that the holiday would begin on Wednesday.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, which began on March 11 for both Sunni and Shiite communities in Lebanon, as well as in other countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran.