Rifi Expects More Assassinations

Police chief Gen. Ashraf Rifi did not rule out new assassinations in Lebanon.

 

“There is always a possibility,” Rifi said after meeting Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in Bkirki on Friday.

He said that the government”s top priority was to make sure that civil war does not ignite.

 

“We don”t have signs that any side wants” civil war, Rifi said.

 

When asked about the investigation into the Jan. 25 assassination of security intelligence officer Maj. Wissam Eid, Rifi said: “There are some clues…but these terrorist crimes were committed by professional murderers and more time is needed,” to find the culprits.

 

Sfeir, in turn, expressed fears that what Lebanon and the region were experiencing was really “the calm before the storm.”

 

“I see that the tranquility prevailing over Lebanon and the region is the calm before the storm,” Sfeir said.

 

“Lebanon cannot suffer from more jolts and battles in the absence of institutions,” he added.