Violence in Sweida: Druze Sheik Akl receives support from Rai
A cease-fire that took effect Sunday brought an end to the violence, which left more than 1,000 people dead in one week.
The two religious leaders also discussed the possibility of holding a "spiritual summit to discuss the current situation and work toward civil peace and national unity," according to a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The sheikh also received calls and messages of support from Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, Bishop Boulos Matar, the president of the Bar Elias municipality, Rida Mays, and the Islamic-Christian Dialogue Committee member Mohammad Yassine. He also received at his home in Shanay several figures who came to offer their support.
'Distance Lebanon from conflicts'
In a statement Monday, President Joseph Aoun praised "the rational stances of the mufti of the republic, Abdellatif Deriane, and Druze Sheik Akl, Mona, former minister Walid Joumblatt, and former prime ministers Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora and Tammam Salam, who helped ease tensions and distance Lebanon from the conflicts surrounding it."
He also criticized those who "raised the tone in response to the unfortunate events that recently occurred in Syria."
Aoun on Monday called on Lebanese "to unite their efforts and act in an objective and responsible manner" in order to distance the country from conflicts in the region. He said his aim is to "ensure the country's security and prevent the outbreak of a war that no one will be able to withstand."
"This is an opportunity to protect Lebanon, as we did during the conflict between Israel and Iran, during which we made every effort to keep Lebanon out of the war," he said.
The events in Sweida have raised fears of spillover and sectarian tensions in Lebanon. It is in this context that Sheikhs Deriane and Mona on Friday, during a phone call, called to "avoid falling into the trap of sedition."
The head of state, chaired a meeting Friday on the "security situation" in the country, while Druze leader and former head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Joumblatt on Sunday called for the opening of a dialogue among all parties in Syria under the authorities' leadership. In contrast to these calls for calm, former Druze minister Wi'am Wahab, for his part, called for armed struggle in Sweida.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ya Libnan
9 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Hezbollah commander Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail ‘killed' in Israeli strikes, claims IDF
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war , the Israel Defence Forces on Saturday claimed to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander – Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail – in the Bint Jbeil sector, reported PTI . The IDF even claimed that Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail was one of the Hezbollah commanders who were involved in efforts to rehabilitate in southern Lebanon. In a post on X, the IDF said, 'ELIMINATED: Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail, a senior Hezbollah commander in the Bint Jbeil sector, involved in efforts to rehabilitate the terrorist organization in southern Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.' Earlier, Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz visited the home of Sheikh Muafak Tarif in Syria's Julis – home of the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. According to a statement by the Defense Ministry, Katz said the military would work to provide medical assistance to the Druze of southern Syria. In July, a Handala boat, carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid supplies approached the Gaza Strip , reported The Times of Israel , adding, they sailed from Sicily, following a month after Israel intercepted a different vessel that had made a high-profile attempt to break the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which operates Handala, also dispatched the earlier boat Madleen on a mission to challenge Israel's blockade on the Strip. The Times of Israel had earlier quoted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling former hostages and hostage families on Friday that the Donald Trump administration needs to 'rethink' its strategy regarding solving the war in Gaza . MINT
Ya Libnan
9 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Barrack piles on pressure on Lebanon over Hezbollah disarmament
The special envoy has led US discussions with Lebanese leaders over Hezbollah's disarmament over the months [Getty/file photo] US envoy Tom Barrack has continued to apply pressure on the Lebanese government to speed up the disarming of Hezbollah . The ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria warned on Sunday that the Lebanese government's credibility 'rests on its ability to match principle with practice,' in reference to pledges that Beirut has made to gain state monopoly on arms. 'The government and Hezbollah need to fully commit and act now in order to not consign the Lebanese people to the stumbling status quo,' he said. 'As long as Hezbollah retains arms, words will not suffice.' On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that negotiations with Hezbollah remain ongoing but acknowledged that they were progressing very slowly. 'There is some responsiveness to the ideas we're discussing, even things are moving at a slow pace,' he said. Hezbollah had rejected Barrack's roadmap that would see the group disarm within four months, in exchange for a halt to Israeli withdrawal from the country, as well as a cessation of strikes. The group's current leader, Naim Qassem, said: 'We are a people who do not surrender', and rejected US pressure to act on the matter. Qassem , while maintaining being open to dialogue, has continuously stressed that the group giving up its arms would be 'suicidal' amid Israel's frequent strikes on the country's south. Disarmament has been the centre of national and international negotiations with Lebanon following the November ceasefire, with Barrack making several diplomatic visits to Beirut on the matter since his appointment. One of Lebanon's most high-profile politicians, Walid Jumblatt , spoke in favour of Hezbollah's disarmament in an interview with Saudi channel Al-Arabiya . The Druze leader said that Hezbollah must 'realise that keeping its weapons and missiles serves no purpose,' stressing that it would cause problems for the country and Lebanon would 'not stabilise' as a result, in Saturday's interview. Founded in the 1980s in response to Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon, the Iran-backed group grew into a Shia Islamist party and militant group. The group has fought several conflicts against Israel, but was significantly weakened late last year after Tel Aviv launched a full-scale war in Lebanon, in parallel with the military onslaught in Gaza. Several high-profile members were killed, including its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, as well as his successor, Hashem Safieddine. More than 4,000 Lebanese were killed by Israel, who struck the country's south, Beirut and the eastern Beqaa Valley, among other locations. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was then reached in November last year, which Israel routinely continues to violate, cling that Hezbollah has not complied with UN Resolutions 1559 and 1701 which call for disarming all militias in Lebanon New Arab
Nahar Net
11 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Three killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
Three killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon The Health Ministry said three people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south on Saturday despite a ceasefire, as the Israeli military said one of them targeted a Hezbollah militant. "The Israeli enemy drone strike that targeted a vehicle" in Tyre district "killed one person," a ministry statement said. The Israeli military said that it "struck and eliminated" a Hezbollah commander who was "involved in efforts to rehabilitate the ... organization in the area of Bint Jbeil," near the border. It did not specify where the strike took place. The Lebanese health ministry later reported that another Israeli strike in Tyre district, on the town of Debaal, killed two people. The state-run National News Agency reported that it targeted a house. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment about the reported strike in Debaal. Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war. It has warned it will continue to strike until the Iran-backed militant group has been disarmed. Under the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon but has kept them in five areas it deems strategic.
