Naharnet

Higher Defense Council Says Security Must be Restored in Aley

Lebanon's top defense council has ordered an investigation into a deadly shooting in the Mount Lebanon region of Aley that involved the convoy of Minister Saleh a-Gharib.

The Higher Defense Council held a meeting Monday attended by President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Cabinet ministers and heads of Lebanon's security and military agencies.

Aoun stressed that the pillars of the Republic are three: freedom of belief, the right to disagree, and freedom of opinion and expression, the HDC spokesman said in a statement after the meeting.

Aoun called on the judicial and security authorities to implement the necessary measures, in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations, and to make the necessary arrests of the persons involved in the security incidents that took place in a number of villages in Aley on Sunday.

The Council said in a statement that it took "decisive decisions to restore security to the region that witnessed the bloody events without any hesitation," calling "to arrest all the wanted persons and refer them to the judiciary."

Sunday's shooting came as supporters of the Progressive Socialist Party, led by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, closed roads to prevent Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil from touring the region. Bassil and al-Gharib are allies.

Source: Naharnet, Associated Press


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