The Lebanese Army on Monday (July 1st) reinforced security measures and intensified its patrols in Aley after a Sunday armed clash in the town of Qabrshmoun that left two dead and one wounded, Lebanese media reported.
On Sunday, gunmen opened gunfire at the convoy of State Minister of Refugees Saleh al-Gharib in the mountain village near Beirut, killing two of his guards and wounding another.
Al-Gharib, who belongs to a Druze party allied with Hizbullah that is supportive of the Syrian regime, said he had been heading to Qabrshmoun when his convoy came under fire.
The shooting came as supporters of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), led by Druze leader Walid Jumblat, closed roads to prevent Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil from touring the region. Jumblat's party is opposed to the Syrian regime.
The PSP said al-Gharib's guards opened fire "randomly" at a group of people who were closing the road to prevent Bassil from passing. It said a PSP supporter was wounded in the shooting, and that others who had weapons opened fire at al-Gharib's convoy, killing two of his guards.
"What happened was an armed ambush and a clear assassination attempt," al-Gharib told al-Jadeed TV.
Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri called officials from the rival parties as well as heads of security agencies, urging them to restore calm.
