Interior and Municipalities Minister in the caretaker government, Bassam Molawi, indicated on Friday evening that "the investigations into the murder of Pascal Suleiman are still in the preliminary stage with the army." He added in an interview with "Asharq Al-Awsat": "The questions from the Lebanese regarding the details of the operation and whether it was a regular theft or something beyond that are legitimate, and only the final results of the investigation can answer them, which must be announced to the citizens to clarify and address all questions."
He clarified that "efforts are currently underway to track the route of the stolen vehicle used by the kidnappers, and whether they attempted to carry out other operations in the days leading up to the kidnapping and murder of Suleiman." He noted that "the gangs based along the Syrian border are not only involved in kidnapping operations but also in smuggling Captagon and Syrians into Lebanon through illegal crossings, and the Syrian state has a responsibility and role in pursuing these gangs, which it is not fulfilling."
Molawi concluded: "We rejected a Syrian request to remove the observation towers on the border; rather, we insist on activating them in an attempt to combat these operations."
