LF speaks out against 'barbaric' violence against Syrians, still calls for repatriation

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Forces condemned the "barbaric acts to which some Syrians are exposed," in a statement on Thursday, while still calling for Syrian refugees to leave the country. The party's Jbeil district office manager, Pascal Sleiman, was murdered earlier in the week and several Syrian nationals were arrested by the Lebanese Army in connection with the incident.

Sleiman went missing Sunday evening. About 24 hours later, the Lebanese Army declared that he had been killed, his body found in the trunk of his own car over the border in Syria.

LF contests the army's version of events, which centers around a carjacking gone wrong, saying it views his murder as "a political assassination until proven otherwise."

There have been numerous incidents since Monday of Syrians being assaulted and beaten in the streets by supporters of the Christian party, while whole municipalities have enacted bylaws that restrain Syrians from leaving their homes.

There are an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, the country with the largest refugee population per capita in the world.

'Urgent return of refugees, but...'

"The LF has always called and continues to call for the return of Syrian refugees to their homes, especially as security has been established in Syria," the statement reads. "There is absolutely no reason to keep them in Lebanon."

The international community and numerous human rights organizations often criticize these claims, pointing to ongoing abuse, arbitrary detention, and forced disappearances amid a war that continues on to this day.

LF's position, as per the statement released Thursday, is that "some" Syrian refugees in Lebanon contribute to "a mass of crimes and security violations," and it is "urgent" that Syrians return to their homeland.

However, the statement clarifying, "calling for the return of Syrian refugees is one thing, but behaving in a hateful and barbaric manner [towards Syrians] is another."

"The behavior we've seen on certain social media networks and certain actions taken on the ground are not only inadmissible but also dubious, in form, substance and timing," the statement says. LF condemned the "barbaric acts to which some Syrians have been exposed," in the days following Pascal Sleiman's murder.

'Raising moral standards'

On Wednesday, a Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) party office in Jdita, a town in central Bekaa was ransacked. The office windows were smashed and someone had poured petrol in an attempt to set the building on fire, before fleeing — leaving behind a Lebanese Forces flag.

On Thursday morning, several local media outlets reported that an ambulance affiliated with the SSNP had been set on fire in Baysour, a Druze village in Aley district.

Among others, Walid Joumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) condemned the incident, calling on the security forces to "take immediate action to clarify the circumstances" of the crime and arrest those responsible.

In a text cited by the official National News Agency (NNA), the PSP said that "moral standards must be raised, especially in view of what is happening in the country."

The PSP criticized "suspicious actions that will not succeed in altering civil peace," and called for people to rely on the army, the police, and the judiciary to handle potential conflict.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati sought to de-escalate tensions, contacting LF leader Samir Geagea, who assured him that his party had no connection to the acts of vandalism. During the phone call, Mikati also highlighted the importance for all Lebanese leaders to "avoid anything that could provoke discord and division" in the country.

On Wednesday evening, outgoing Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, who has made several inflammatory comments in the last few days, said that the "massive, disorderly Syrian presence" in Lebanon, "must be dealt with by applying the law."

He called on the Lebanese to "be united and calm, as any incitement to division whatsoever only harms the country's interests and enables criminals to achieve their goals."