Murder of Pascal Sleiman could ignite Lebanon

By Armin Sijamić

According to a statement from the Lebanese army, Christian official Pascal Sleiman was killed on Sunday, after which his party's supporters took to the streets. In a case that is still not fully clarified, things are moving rapidly, and some warn that Lebanon is facing another civil war.

The war in Syria displaced millions of people, many of whom ended up in neighboring Lebanon. Lebanon also received those fleeing the Syrian army, as well as those, mostly Shiites, fleeing from rebels and terrorist groups operating there. Some of them began to engage in crime and smuggling across the border, which is a lucrative business since Syria is under Western sanctions, and Lebanon has been on the verge of complete economic collapse for years.

The murder of Pascal Sleiman, the coordinator of the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) in Jbeil (Byblos), a region north of Beirut, has once again shed light on Syrians in Lebanon.


Pascal Sleiman

According to a statement from the Lebanese army, a group of Syrians stole a car belonging to Sleiman and killed him in the process, meaning he died on the way to Syria. The army announced that the military intelligence service arrested "almost all" suspects, seven of them, on Monday evening. The body was found in Syria, and Beirut requested assistance from Damascus, which quickly handed over three suspects.

Other information also emerged. It was claimed that Sleiman had been kidnapped and was alive in Syria, which quickly turned out to be disinformation.

Political Murder?

The LF, to which Sleiman belonged, immediately stated that it was a "political assassination" until proven otherwise and called on supporters to attend the funeral in large numbers, although party leader Samir Geagea called for restraint. Some Christians took to the streets on Sunday and Monday, blocking roads in the Byblos district and the highway to Beirut. Videos appeared on social media showing Christians beating Syrian refugees on the streets.

The LF stated that his blood was not shed in vain, adding: "The blood of our martyrs has kept Lebanon a land of freedom and dignity." Finally, the LF announced: "We will not allow them to push the Lebanese into despair and turn to immigration."

The Kataeb Party, the Maronite League, the Progressive Socialist Party, and the Free Patriotic Movement expressed solidarity with the LF, the demonstrators, and Sleiman's family, while interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a Sunni, called on agencies to investigate the circumstances of the abduction and murder, and urged citizens to exercise restraint and not fall for rumors.



Accusations are being exchanged on social media and in parts of the media about who is responsible for the murder. While some claim it was a classic gang attack, others see a political background. Some claim that the perpetrators of the murder were former members of Syrian rebel groups, others that Hezbollah is behind the liquidation, or at least partially responsible because the gangs transported the body through the Beqaa Valley and further across the border where this Shiite Lebanese group is very present. Still others see the influence of foreign factors, namely intelligence services from Israel and other countries.

Things become more dangerous due to the fact that the LF is a strong critic of Hezbollah, with whom they have clashed militarily, so many fear that a new conflict could continue along the lines where the bloody civil war ended. The LF is also an opponent of the official Damascus, which is an ally of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has distanced itself from the murder. Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah denied his movement's involvement in the case and accused those blaming the Shiite movement of inciting sectarian conflict.

The least Hezbollah needs is another front while they have been at war with Israel for almost seven months. Those who support Hezbollah have no doubt who would benefit from a conflict between Lebanese Christians and Shiites. Following that logic, it would not be difficult to conclude that Christians, who are militarily weaker than Hezbollah, would receive support from abroad in every way.

Old Divisions and New Fears

The LF is not giving up on finding the culprit. In a statement on Tuesday, they said that three factors connected to Hezbollah contributed to Sleiman's murder.

"The first factor is the presence of Hezbollah in its current form under the guise of resistance or another alibi. This illegitimate presence of Hezbollah has led to the paralysis of the state's role and its effectiveness, which has allowed the presence of armed gangs and armed chaos," the LF stated. In addition, the LF blames Hezbollah for the weak control of the state border with Syria and, finally, for "castrating state judicial, security, and military institutions by prohibiting their work in certain areas or on certain cases or on any issue related to any person belonging to the Axis of Defiance."

The LF's accusations are essentially a collection of arguments that some have been using against Hezbollah for years. They claim that Hezbollah, by adhering to official Tehran and fighting Israel, has subordinated Lebanon to that goal, i.e., placed it in the context of regional movements, the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and especially Iran and Israel, behind which the West stands. Practically, this is a call for the abolition or reform of Hezbollah, at least its military wing. The accusations in the Sleiman case are similar to the accusations in the case of Elias Hasrouni, another LF official, who was killed in August last year. Even then, the LF accused Hezbollah, but the context is different because a war has been ongoing on the border of Lebanon for almost seven months.



Those close to Hezbollah have a different view. They claim that this group is the only guarantee that Lebanon will not fall under the control of Israel, Saudi Arabia, or the West. Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon until 2006, when Hezbollah expelled them from there, is one of the main arguments for this claim. On these grounds, Hezbollah has found allies among Christians as well. The Amal Movement is an ally of Hezbollah and a rival party to the LF.

The LF is currently the leading Lebanese and Christian party, although it is in opposition. It is the successor to the Christian militia from the civil war, meaning the military coalition was transformed into a political one. During the invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the LF was supported by Israel, and the infamous Phalanges were established at that time, carrying out massacres of Shiites and Palestinians. The LF's strong ties with foreign factors were also confirmed by their conflict with Christian General and later President of Lebanon Michel Aoun.

In Lebanon's complicated political system and in a society where the wounds of war are still fresh, cases like the murder of Sleiman can be a prelude to new conflicts. It is clear that conflicts suit many, especially those outside Lebanon.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on the citizens of Lebanon for self-control yesterday. "In these delicate and tense circumstances, we call for patience and restraint," al-Rahi said, and urged the judiciary and authorities to "severely punish the criminals." Al-Rahi thus precisely outlined what Lebanon currently needs – a swift investigation, punishment for the perpetrators, and patience from the people of Lebanon. Precisely these three things have been lacking in Lebanon for decades and have led to many problems.