Minister of Youth and Sports Faisal Karame’s convoy was subject to fire shots by anonymous persons who later tossed an Energa-type rocket at one of the minister’s vehicles, setting it on fire.
Minister of Youth and Sports Faisal Karame’s convoy was subject to fire shots by anonymous persons who later tossed an Energa-type rocket at one of the minister’s vehicles, setting it on fire.
The incident, which took place while the convoy was passing through the Azmi Street roundabout in northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, resulted in the injury of five of Minister Karame's bodyguards.
Minister Karame said in a televised statement that he was not hurt from the gunshots, pointing out that this act aims at “shaking the country’s stability,” yet assuring that “we will not be dragged to a civil war in Tripoli.”
Elements of the Lebanese Army deployed in the region and around the Lebanese Youth and Sports Minister’s house in Tripoli and set a checkpoint there.
On another hand, Minister Karame told Al-Manar TV that Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, PM Najib Miqati, and Parliament Speaker Nabil Berri condemned the attack in a phone call with him; while Head of the Loyalty of the Resistance Parliamentary Bloc MP Mohammad Raad called former Prime Minister Omar Karame and congratulated him on his son's safety.
For his part, PM Omar Karame held a press conference Friday afternoon, in which he stressed that “we hold no grudge against anyone, we don’t accuse anyone, and we are certain that what happened was a mistake by some militants in that place.”
Karame called on “his supporters to be aware of the big responsibility that falls on us,” and pledged to “keep his vow no matter how the situation changed,” in indication to the former PM’s trust in the state’s roll.
PM considered that “the divine providence intervened to save Faisal Karame from a painful outcome.”
“We have passed through alot, we sacrificed with our blood for the sake of Lebanon’s unity, and we are always ready to present our blood so that the path of progress, development and peace continue,” he added.
