Lebanese President Joseph Aoun sharply criticised the attack on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy on Beirut’s airport route the day before, as well as other security incidents in the capital, calling them “unacceptable” and “deplorable.”
In a statement issued by the Lebanese presidency, Aoun emphasised that such actions must not be repeated, warning that security forces will not accept any attempts to destabilise stability and civic peace.
He ordered the army and security forces to restore order, unblock blocked roads, clear barriers, and apprehend individuals responsible for the unrest. Authorities have already began field investigations and started making arrests, he said.
Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar announced on Saturday that more than 25 people are currently in detention with the Lebanese Army Intelligence for inquiry, with another detainee held by the Internal Security Forces’ Information Division.
“This does not mean these detainees carried out the attack… but the investigations will show who is responsible,” he noted.
On Friday evening, a group of young men attacked a UN-marked vehicle, assaulted its occupants, and set fire to three UNIFIL automobiles. Xinhua stated that a high-ranking UNIFIL officer was hurt.
The incidents follow protests conducted a day earlier over the refusal to allow an Iranian airliner carrying Lebanese passengers to land in Beirut.
On Thursday, Lebanese aviation authorities prohibited an Iranian passenger flight from landing at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanon’s sole operational international airport, following an Israeli claim that Iran was using the airport to “smuggle funds to Hezbollah.”
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