President Sleiman: All parties must cooperate to reveal details of Sunday's incident

President Michel Sleiman held on Monday contacts with acting State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud and security leaders, urging them to investigate and reveal the details of Sunday’s incident outside the Iranian embassy and arresting the aggressors involved.

He also noted that the Lebanese people and parties, "mainly Hezbollah and the Iranian embassy, must cooperate with the security apparatus in order to facilitate its mission."

Meanwhile, the media office of MP Saad Hariri reported that Hariri telephoned the head of the Lebanese Option Party Ahmed Kamel al-Asaad, during which he slammed the attack carried out by Hezbollah supporters on the demonstrators.

In this context, MP Hariri asserted that the Lebanese people refuse "such acts of provocation" and will not accept Hezbollah's "security reserves" in Beirut.

Men wielding batons and wearing yellow arm bands evoking Lebanon's Hezbollah attacked protesters outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut Sunday during a rally against the group's participation in the Syrian civil war.

One protester was killed, a senior Lebanese military official and witnesses said.

A military statement said the protesters had just arrived at the embassy area when clashes broke out and a civilian opened fire.

The embassy is in Bir Hassan, a predominantly pro-Hezbollah area.

Witnesses saw men wearing yellow armbands the color of Hezbollah's flag attacking the protesters with batons.

It was unclear if they were affiliated with the group, and the identity of the gunman was unknown, a senior security official said.

The official identified the man killed as a 28-year-old member of the small Lebanese Option Party, which had called for the anti-Hezbollah protest.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The Syria conflict is increasingly spilling over into Lebanon.

Hezbollah's participation in the conflict, backing forces of Syria's President Bashar Assad in a successful campaign to drive rebels out of al-Qusayr near the Lebanese border, heightened tensions.

The Lebanese Option Party is headed by a Shiite politician, Ahmad El Assaad, who has long been opposed to Hezbollah. Sunday's clash outside the Iranian Embassy marked rare fighting between two opposing Shiite groups.

The protest at the embassy coincided with another small rally in downtown Beirut also criticizing Hezbollah's military intervention in Syria's conflict.


AP/LBCI