Head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah threatened on Monday the Lebanese Forces, saying his party boasts 100,000 trained and armed fighters.
He warned any side in the country against thinking of “waging a civil war with the party,” stressing in a harsh tone: “Be reasonable.”
In a speech on Monday, Nasrallah attempted to assure Christians, days after the clashes in Beirut’s Tayyouneh area pitted supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and the Amal movement against the Christian LF.
Seven people were killed in the fighting and dozens injured.
The LF condemned Thursday’s events and blamed the violence on Hezbollah’s “incitement” against Tarek Bitar, the lead investigator in a probe into last year’s blast at Beirut port.
Amal and Hezbollah had called the demonstration to protest against Bitar.
Nasrallah alleged that his party helped preserve the presence of Christians in Syria and that it was defending Christian representation in Lebanon.
In his strongly-worded speech, he sharply criticized LF leader Samir Geagea, accusing him of seeking to divide Lebanon and ignite civil war.
He described the Tayyouneh developments as “fateful”, saying the victims were killed by LF supporters.
Addressing Geagea, he said: “With whom do want to wage a civil war? Don’t get your calculations wrong. You must know that Hezbollah boasts 100,000 fighters.”
“Don’t miscalculate and you should derive lessons from your wars and ours,” he said pointedly.
Moreover, Nasrallah addressed a footage of the fighting that showed a soldier firing at protesters.
He called for an investigation and for accountability, “otherwise we will see what will happen.”
“We do not leave the blood of our martyrs behind,” he stated.
On the Beirut port explosion probe, Nasrallah described Bitar as a “dictator”, claiming he is being backed by foreign embassies.
