Hezbollah: Attack on Karami Aimed at Igniting Conflict

Hezbollah condemned the Friday attack on the convoy of Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami that left 11 people wounded in Tripoli, north Lebanon as a “vicious act.”

In a statement issued by Hezbollah’s media office on Friday, the resistance party said: “The aim of such criminal practices is to risk civil peace and stability in the city of Tripoli and ignite conflicts among its residents which should be strongly opposed by everyone. Security forces and concerned authorities should bear their full responsibilities in identifying the attackers and bringing them to justice.”

“Hezbollah calls on wise people in Tripoli to exert all efforts to prevent tendentious people from implementing their inciting schemes,” the statement added.

Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem telephoned Omar Karami and his son on behalf of Sayyed Hasan Nasralalh to congratulate them on the youth minister’s safety after the attack and wished Karami’s bodyguards speedy recovery.

Media reports said gunmen demanding the release of ‘Islamist prisoners’ opened fire on Karami’s convoy, wounding 11 people including four of Karami’s bodyguards.

His father, former Prime Minister Omar Karami, said the incident was a “mistake.”