The Katateb Party slammed on Monday the recent attack on its Tipoli headquarters as “a failed attempt to keep the Kataeb away from its people in the capital of the north,” noting that the ruling class is seeking to drag Lebanon into war so it would keep the gains it has acquired over the years.

“We consider the attack on Tripoli’s Kataeb offices to be a cowardly act intended to fuel violent reactions that the Lebanese people utterly reject,” the party’s political bureau said during its periodic meeting headed by party leader Sami Gemayel.

The party thanked the Lebanese Army Command for taking swift actions and arresting one of the perpetrators, and called on the security forces to bring all instigators to justice.

“The Kataeb Party considers the convoys of some Syrians on Lebanon’s roads en route to their embassy, as they brandished flags and photos of the Assad regime, to be a challenge for the Lebanese in their own country, which led to clashes in various Lebanese regions,” it added.

On May 20, a Molotov cocktail was hurled at the Kataeb Party’s office in the Lebanese northern city of Tripoli, setting it ablaze, and two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the charitable Al Khayyal dispensary in Tripoli’s Al Nejme Square, causing damage to its balcony.

The incidents come after the Kataeb and the LF voiced their resentment over the voting for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Lebanon by Syrian nationals who are supposed to have the status of “refugees”.

Earlier in the day, Kataeb Party lashed out at the “provocations” of Syrian nationals who cast their ballots in Lebanon in favor of Assad as “unacceptable”, and called on the Lebanese security forces to play their role in this regard.

“One week after provocative convoys have been roaming Lebanese regions, brandishing Syrian regime flags and photos of President Bashar al-Assad (…), it was normal to expect the reactions witnessed by several Lebanese areas shortly before some Syrian nationals participated in the elections of their country’s presidency,” the Kataeb Party said.

Scuffles erupted on Thursday between Lebanese and Syrians who were on their way to cast votes at their embassy in Lebanon in favor of Assad, as polling abroad began before next week’s presidential election.

The voters were driving in a convoy of cars and buses, waving Syrian flags and blasting pro-Assad songs on speakers, heading to the embassy on the outskirts of Beirut, when a group of Lebanese attacked their vehicles, witnesses said.

The Lebanese smashed windows and burned their flags, snarling up traffic on the thoroughfare, the witnesses said.