(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam cancelled official Independence Day celebrations on Friday, citing the “current situation” for scrapping government-hosted events.
Lebanon has been without a president since May because bickering politicians haven’t been able to agree on a figure acceptable to all. Politicians are in disagreements related mostly to the war in neighboring Syria.
The president is an important symbolic figure in Lebanon selected from the country’s Maronite Christian minority.
Security is shaky in Lebanon, yet another side effect of Syria’s civil war. Most recently in October, Lebanese hard-liners inspired by militants in Syria clashed with soldiers in the northern town of Tripoli for four days.
Lebanon’s army chief on Friday described the militants as seeking to create an “emirate of darkness,” stretching from Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria to the sea.
General Jean Kahwaji’s comments echoed that of Lebanese politicians who have said that the militants, some loyal to the Islamic State group, have sought to carve out a proto-state in the country’s north, similar to the caliphate declared by the Islamic State group on captured territory in Syria and Iraq.
President Barack Obama said in a message for Lebanon Friday that the United States regrets that this anniversary day passes without an elected president, “an important but missing symbol of the unity of the nation and a key factor in promoting Lebanese sovereignty and stability.”
The message that was released by the U.S. embassy in Beirut quoted Obama as saying Washington will continue to stand with “our Lebanese partners in the face of the threat extremists pose to our countries and the world.”
The U.S. has been speeding up delivery of ammunition to help Lebanon’s military combat jihadi groups. Washington has provided more than $1 billion in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006.
READ more of the President’s remarks to the Lebanese people at this link.
CLICK HERE for more coverage of Lebanon’s 71st Independence Day.
Source: Associated Press