Damaged SSNP office in Jdita, Bekaa. (Credit: Courtesy of our correspondent in the Bekaa Sarah Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Unknown people damaged on Wednesday the office of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) in Jdita, in central Bekaa, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the Bekaa.
The attackers broke the windows of the office, poured gasoline and tried to set the office on fire before fleeing and leaving behind a flag of the Lebanese Forces.
This incident comes four days after the murder of Lebanese Forces’ Jbeil district office head Pascal Sleiman in Jbeil who was killed by a Syrian car mafia, according to the Lebanese Army.
According to L'Orient Today's correspondent, Bekaa Governor Kamal Abu Jaoudeh is following up on the attack with the Public Prosecutor in the Bekaa Judge Mounif Barakat and leaders of security services in the area.
"Investigations are being conducted quickly and effectively to identify the perpetrators to preserve public security, order and civil peace in the region," Abou Jaoudeh said.
Following the incident, the SSNP said in a statement that the "fifth column in Lebanon is called the Lebanese Forces, which implements dangerous agendas that affect the security of the country and serve the Israeli enemy," according to the state-run National News Agency.
The SSNP affirmed that "any attempt to attack any of the [party's] centers will not pass at all."
"It seems that there are some in Lebanon, who are professional in the game of blood and strife, have taken advantage of [Sleiman's murder which is] condemned by us, and decided to stab the resistance in the back and exploit the ongoing war in the south to try to create confusion [in Lebanon] in order to serve their masters," continued the party's statement. The SSNP reiterated "its faith in the work of the security and judicial agencies, which uncovered the crime and showed its aspects accurately and responsibly."
The Lebanese Army said on Monday that Sleiman, who had been missing since his kidnapping the previous day, was killed by Syrian people during an attempted car burglary and his body taken to Syria. Following the army's reports, Lebanese Forces supporters channeled their anger toward the Syrian population in Lebanon.
Responding to the SSNP's accusations, the Lebanese Forces' center in Zahleh released a statement in which it denied any involvement. The text published by the LF condemned the "armed attack on the headquarters of the SSNP ... and the attempt to attribute this act to the Lebanese Forces Party by hanging the party's flag on the door of the [headquarters]."
"Confronting the sedition traveling between Lebanese regions has become a duty for all of us," the party added.
The Lebanese Forces reiterated its "keenness on coexistence in Jdita, as in all villages in the Zahleh district" and called on the "security forces to address the issue, arrest the perpetrators, hand them over to the competent judiciary and inflict the most severe punishments on them."