Monday's Official Brevet Exams in Tense Areas Postponed

Caretaker Education Minister Hassan Diab announced that Monday's Middle school official exams, Brevet (BR), in several areas across Lebanon were postponed.

“Official exams in Leilaki center, which includes around 250 students, and in 10 other exam halls in Sidon were postponed,” Diab told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

He pointed out that the names of the students that hail from southern Lebanon and their exams in Beirut will be recorded for a make-up exam.

“We will set new dates for a replacement exam for all the students that weren't able to arrive to their exam centers,” Diab added.

Middle school official exams for Grade 9 kicked off on June 22.

Meanwhile, the Director of the faculty of Arts and Humanities at the Lebanese University – first branch- Nabil al-Khatib, announced that the final exams will be postponed to July 2 as most students weren't able to arrive at the faculty.

At least twelve Lebanese soldiers were killed in less than 24 hours in clashes with supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir in the Sidon suburb of Abra.

Abra is home to a mosque, Bilal bin Rabah, where Asir leads the main weekly prayers on Fridays. The sheikh believes Hizbullah uses apartments in Abra to keep him under surveillance.

He also says the Lebanese army has provided cover to Hizbullah, whose members are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops against rebels.

Asir was unknown until around two years ago, when he gained prominence for his opposition to Hizbullah and its ally Assad.

The military urged political leaders in Sidon to choose sides and to stand either alongside the army, or with "those who promote strife and the killing of troops".