Killing of Lebanese official ignites sectarian strife

News Desk - The Cradle

The body of the official from the US-backed Lebanese Forces was found in the Lebanese–Syrian border region

Pascal Suleiman, a member of the far-right Lebanese Forces (LF) party, was discovered dead near the Syrian border in northern Lebanon on the afternoon of 8 April after having been kidnapped and killed by a group of carjackers, according to an official army investigation. 

The LF official had been kidnapped on 7 April. 

“Following up on the case of the kidnapped Pascal Suleiman, the Army Intelligence Directorate was able to arrest most of the Syrian gang members involved in the kidnapping,” the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said in a statement on Monday. 

“During their investigation, it became clear that the kidnapped person was killed by them while they were trying to steal his car in the Jbeil area, and that they transported his body to Syria. The Army Command coordinated with the Syrian authorities to retrieve the body, and investigations are completed under the supervision of the Cassation Public Prosecution,” the army statement added. 

Following the discovery of Suleiman’s body, supporters of LF began violently protesting against the Syrian refugee presence in Lebanon, attacking Syrian workers, damaging their vehicles, and cutting off roads in Beirut’s Bourj Hammoud area and the northwestern Jbeil area. 

“We consider the martyrdom of comrade Pascal Suleiman to be a killing that was carried out intentionally and with premeditation and design, and we consider it, until further notice, to be a political assassination until proven otherwise,” the media office of the LF said in a statement. 

According to Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada, the car jackers had unsuccessfully attempted to steal several other cars before stumbling onto Suleiman's vehicle by chance. 

Prior to the discovery that Suleiman had been killed, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a speech and warned about the “dangerous” implications of accusations made by supporters of LF and media outlets affiliated with it, pinning the his kidnapping on Hezbollah. 

He also warned against LF’s mobilization on the streets of Jbeil and elsewhere on Sunday, during which “sectarian language” and “intimidation” were used. That day, LF leader Samir Geagea made a rare public appearance at the party’s headquarters in Jbeil.

LF and the Kataeb Party are “people of strife, stirred up by buried grudges, and are looking for a civil war,” Nasrallah said during his speech on Monday. 

Days before the kidnapping of Suleiman, Geagea said in a television interview that Lebanon’s Christians “are now in confrontation with the Shiites.” 

LF has been accused repeatedly in recent years of being behind attempts to instigate sectarian strife in Lebanon. 

On 14 October 2021, militants affiliated with the LF party opened fire on a peaceful protest in Beirut’s Tayouneh neighborhood, led by supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. The protesters were demanding the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar, who was accused of politicizing the 2020 Beirut Port blast investigation. 

Several people were killed as a result of the shooting. Geagea was accused of involvement after incriminating confessions given by some of the detained LF members during investigations following the massacre.
The LF leader was imprisoned at the end of the Lebanese civil war for his involvement in several massacres committed during the 15 years of strife in Lebanon.