4/30/2024 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) — Pascal Suleiman, a Lebanese Christian leader, was reported missing on April 7 and later found dead in neighboring Syria. Suleiman was a leader of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian-based political party that opposes Hezbollah, and many speculate his death was politically motivated. 

Two theories are causing an uproar in Lebanon regarding Suleiman’s death. The official story, released by the Lebanese army, is that Syrian residents kidnapped him and killed him in an attempted robbery. While there is tension in the country among residents and the nearly 1 million Syrian refugees, many believe this was a politically motivated crime tied to the Hezbollah political party. Suleiman actively challenged the party. 

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah party, according to the Council on Foreign Affairs, “bills itself as a Shiite resistance movement … [that] vowed to expel Western powers from Lebanon, called for the destruction of the Israeli state, and pledged allegiance to Iran’s supreme leader.” 

Many Western countries, including the U.S., characterize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. In its complex decades-long existence, there have been incidents of Hezbollah clashing with Christian entities during sectarian conflicts in Lebanon. Recently, Hezbollah has set up rocket launchers in Christian villages in southern Lebanon to fire into Israel. 

Although Hezbollah’s potential involvement in Suleiman’s death has not been confirmed, the Lebanese Forces Christian Party has stated it will consider his death a politically motivated attack until proven otherwise. 

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