Lebanese Christian official kidnapped and killed, sectarian tensions flare

Pascal Sleiman, a coordinator in the Christian Lebanese Forces party, was kidnapped and killed in the Byblos District of northern Lebanon on Sunday, with officials expressing concerns the kidnapping could exacerbate already heavy tensions between various factions in Lebanon.

According to MTV Lebanon, four armed individuals riding in a white car kidnapped Sleiman, the coordinator for the Lebanese Forces in the Byblos District, between the towns of Maifouq and Lehfed. The Lebanese Al-Jadeed TV reported that Sleiman's phone was later found on the side of the road.

On Monday evening, the Lebanese Army announced that they had arrested most of the members of a Syrian gang that they had found were behind Sleiman's kidnapping and murder. The gang members, who were trying to steal Sleiman's car, informed the Army Intelligence Directorate that Sleiman's body had been transported to Syria. The Lebanese Army is coordinating with Syrian authorities in an effort to bring Sleiman's body home.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the killing of Sleiman on Monday evening, while calling on all Lebanese citizens to "exercise self-control, be wise, and not be drawn into rumors and emotions."

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi will hold an extraordinary meeting of the Central Internal Security Council on Tuesday in light of Sleiman's killing.

Lebanese Forces say they think Sleiman was targeted in a 'political assassination'

The Lebanese Forces responded to Sleiman's death on Monday evening, saying that "the information that has been leaked so far about the motives for the crime does not seem to be consistent with the reality of the matter."

The Lebanese Forces added that they believe that Sleiman was killed intentionally and that the killing was carried out as a "political assassination." The party asked its supporters who had blocked roads to stop doing so and to instead prepare for a massive reception for Sleiman's funeral.

"Whoever thinks that through assassination he can frighten us, intimidate us, and deter us from continuing our path to establish an actual state in which the citizens feel safe and secure, is wrong," said the Lebanese Forces. "The killing of Pascal Suleiman is the killing of every citizen who seeks freedom and wants to live in peace with his family and plan for his future. We will not allow the Lebanese to be discouraged or forced to emigrate."

The kidnapping and murder has sparked anger from supporters of the Lebanese Forces, who blocked roads in the Byblos District on Sunday night and Monday.

Local businesses strike in condemnation of kidnapping

Businesses in the Byblos District were shuttered on Monday after the Lebanese Forces called for a strike in order to denounce the kidnapping.

Samy Gemayel, the leader of the Christian Kataeb Party, warned that the kidnapping is a "very dangerous development," adding that his party "stands alongside the people of the region and friends in the Forces so that this incident does not go unnoticed."

Ketaeb Party MP Elias Hankach appeared to warn of violence erupting in statements to Al-Jadeed on Sunday night, saying, "We believe in the logic of the state, but if there is no state, let everyone take his rights into his own hands."

The Lebanese Forces party is one of the main critics of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Sectarian violence has erupted between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces in recent years.

In October 2021, several people were killed in violent clashes that erupted in the Tayouneh area of Beirut where it meets Ain El Remmaneh and Chiyah, a site famous for sectarian clashes between Shi'ites, Sunnis and Christians during the 1975 civil war in Lebanon, as it marked the border between east and west Beirut.

Hezbollah blamed the Lebanese Forces for the clashes at the time, while the Lebanese Forces blamed Hezbollah.

Last August, an investigation was opened into the death of Elias al-Hasrouni, a former coordinator for the Christian Lebanese Forces party in Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon, just a few miles from the border with Israel.

While al-Hasrouni's death was originally believed to be an accident, the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb party claimed that he had been kidnapped and murdered, according to the Lebanese L'Orient Le-Jour newspaper. The decision to investigate the death was opened due to newfound CCTV footage and other evidence, according to the report.

There have been very few updates on the investigation since it was first opened.