The Lebanese Forces (LF) said on Tuesday that three factors led to the murder of Pascal Sleiman, the party’s coordinator in Jbeil.

A statement by the LF’s media office said, “It is firstly linked to the illegal (armed) presence of Hezbollah under the pretext of being a resistance movement, which has led to a paralysis in state institutions, paving the way for armed gangs and illegal weaponry ownership.”

The Lebanese Forces consider that the main problem remains the “chaos-generating island of Hezbollah,” an allusion to the regions under the direct control of the pro-Iranian party, notably Beirut’s southern suburbs.

“As long as the situation on this ‘island’ has not been resolved, there is no point in trying to put an end to this chaos,” especially since “the absence of state institutions reinforces the presence of these gangs,” reads the text.

The second factor is “the porous Lebanese borders, which Hezbollah has transformed into a strategic route between Tehran and Beirut in the name of a united front” against Israel.

“As long as the illegal crossings are not closed and controlled, these borders will remain a corridor for political crimes and the trafficking of drugs and other illicit substances,” insisted the Lebanese Forces.

They stressed that “whoever maintains chaos on these borders is directly or indirectly responsible for the crimes that are committed.”

The third factor is what the Lebanese Forces refer to as the “castration” of the state, including its judicial, security, military, and other institutions, which are forbidden to work in certain regions or to take up certain cases involving a personality from the axis of resistance” (Iran, Syria, Hezbollah). The Lebanese Forces also stressed that “the murder investigation of Pascal Sleiman must be clear, transparent (…), and precise.”

“As long as the results are not published, we will consider the murder of Pascal Sleiman a political one,” insisted the Lebanese Forces. And they called on the Lebanese to “continue in their struggle to end the causes of these crimes.”

“This can only be achieved if the state extends its sovereignty over the entire territory and monopolizes arms,” concluded the LF.