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Libyan GNU Minister Survives Assassination Attempt

State minister for cabinet affairs Adel Juma meets with GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah in Tripoli. GNU file photo
State minister for cabinet affairs Adel Juma meets with GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah in Tripoli. GNU file photo
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Libyan GNU Minister Survives Assassination Attempt

State minister for cabinet affairs Adel Juma meets with GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah in Tripoli. GNU file photo
State minister for cabinet affairs Adel Juma meets with GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah in Tripoli. GNU file photo

A Libyan state minister survived an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire on his car in the capital Tripoli on Wednesday. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) strongly condemned the attack in which it said an unknown group had shot directly at the vehicle of the state minister for cabinet affairs Adel Juma as it travelled on a highway.

The statement, posted on an official platform, said that Juma's health condition was stable, and that security authorities had "launched investigations to uncover the circumstances of the incident and track down the perpetrators."

The GNU spokesperson, Mohamed Hamouda, told Asharq Al-Awsat that "there are no details yet on the incident," as investigations by security agencies are ongoing to find the perpetrators.

He spoke about "the successful surgery" conducted to extract bullets from the minister's right leg and treat the fractures, confirming that "his health condition is stable."

Local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that Juma’s vehicle came under a barrage of bullets on a highway in Tripoli. He was seriously injured in his legs and rushed to Abu Salim Hospital.

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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed on Sunday that the decision to confine all arms to the state has already been made, but he emphasized that its enforcement hinges on the “right conditions” to determine the timing and method.
Aoun’s statement came two days after Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem firmly rejected any possibility of disarmament. “We will not allow anyone to disarm Hezbollah or the resistance,” Qassem had said in a televised address.
He warned that Hezbollah has “other options,” though he stopped short of specifying them.
Qassem also claimed that Hezbollah has successfully thwarted Israel’s objectives in southern Lebanon, and revealed that “positive messages” had been exchanged with President Aoun regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Aoun
Following an Easter Mass and a closed-door meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Aoun reiterated his stance on confining weapons to the state, emphasizing that the matter “should not be debated through media or social platforms, but rather approached with national responsibility and without provocation”.
He added that the nation’s best interest must always come first, reaffirming that his call, as mentioned in his inaugural address, for exclusive state control over arms was not mere words.
“When I spoke of the state’s exclusive right to arms in my oath of office, it wasn’t just words. I said it because I firmly believe that the Lebanese people do not want war and can no longer bear its consequences or even the language of war,” he said.
In addressing the challenges facing this matter and how to reconcile between external pressures on Lebanon and internal calls for a more gradual approach, Aoun said: “We must address the matter responsibly and with composure because it is a sensitive and fundamental matter for preserving civil peace”.
President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for internal dialogue as the only viable path to resolve contentious national issues, including the question of Hezbollah’s arms. He warned against confrontation, which he said could lead Lebanon toward destruction.
Patriarch Al-Rahi
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, during his Easter Mass sermon, voiced strong support for Aoun’s position on state sovereignty and the monopoly of arms.
Rahi endorsed Aoun’s message that "only the state can protect us—a strong, sovereign, and just state, born from the will of the Lebanese people and committed to their well-being, peace, and prosperity."