BEIRUT: A bodyguard of Koura MP Farid Habib was shot and wounded overnight outside his house in Kousba, in the Koura region of north Lebanon, a security source said Wednesday. Speaking to The Daily Star, the source identified the bodyguard as Elias Nicola Habib, a relative of the Lebanese Forces lawmaker.
He said Habib sustained several wounds to different parts of his body and was taken to St. Louis hospital in Maameltein, in the Kesrouan district north of Beirut.
Medical sources said the victim underwent surgery and was now in stable condition.
The lawmaker said an investigation into the shooting was under way and members of the Internal Security Forces and the Lebanese Army were cooperating to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The security source said Elias Nicola Habib’s name had surfaced during investigations into the killing of a member of Suleiman Franjieh’s Marada Movement about two years ago.
The Marada Movement issued a statement Wednesday condemning the attack against Habib and calling on the police to carry out a quick and transparent investigation in order to catch the criminals.
The statement also warned against “the presence of a third party working to create a rift between Christians, to the detriment of everyone.”
In turn, Bsharri MP Strida Geagea praised the Marada Movement statement of condemnation, following a meeting Wednesday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai.
“I praised the phone call made by MP Suleiman Franjieh to Patriarch Rai during which he made it clear that the Marada Movement had nothing to do with the incident,” Geagea said.
“We consider the incident a painful one … and we hope the Lebanese will find out who was behind it.”
The Independence Movement also issued a statement condemning the attack on Habib.
“We consider this suspicious incident to be a cowardly violation of citizens’ lives and a blow to security and stability in general,” the Independence Movement statement said.
The statement added that the attack targeted the reconciliation sponsored by Bkirki in order to sow discord among Christians in the region.
“We call on the security and judicial authorities to arrest the criminals and punish them in order to put an end to chaos and suppress strife,” the statement added.
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