Lebanese spiritual leaders call for reconciliation

Lebanese spiritual leaders, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, deputy head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan and Druze Sheikh Naim Hassan called all politicians on Monday to start peace talks among disputed parties, after deadly bombings rocked Tripoli and Dahieh. After offering condolences for the 27 victims of the Rweiss blast, al-Rahi said: "What happened on August 15 affected entire Lebanon because we are one family." He added: “No one wants the conflict to continue in Lebanon,” pointing out that if politicians had shown "more unity" especially disputed parties and taken decisions to pull the country out of its crises, these explosions "would not have happened." Al-Rahi called on launching an initiative to resort to dialogue and reconciliation. For his part, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, deputy head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, stressed that Dahieh’s victims were innocent, blaming the deputed parties. The sheikh added that he is willing to offer "whatever is needed for the sake of Lebanon." "We salute and extend our condolences to our people in Tripoli as their wounds are our wounds and their tragedy is our tragedy," Qabalan said. Druze Sheikh Naim Hassan stressed the need to form a national unity government, as well as support the president and his calls for dialogue, considering the events in Lebanon as chance to resort to dialogue and support the institutions.