The Lebanese Forces issued the following statement:
"After receiving with great sorrow, deep pain, and immense anger the news of the martyrdom of our dear and beloved comrade Pascal Sleiman, we request the security and judicial authorities to conduct a serious and thorough investigation with those detained in this case, to reveal its true background. The information leaked so far about the motives of the crime does not seem consistent with the reality of the matter. We consider the martyrdom of comrade Pascal Sleiman as a deliberate, intentional, preconceived, and designed killing operation. We consider it, until proven otherwise, an assassination and a political murder.
On this sad and painful occasion, we thank the people of Jbeil in general, its municipalities, and its union of municipalities in particular. We also thank all the political parties, especially our allies in the Kataeb Party and the Free Patriotic Movement, and the independents who immediately rushed to condemn the incident with us. We also thank all the Lebanese who considered this tragedy as their own, expressing their pain in the absence of effective statehood. On this note, we ask all citizens, comrades, and friends who gathered in the squares and on the roads in an attempt to pressure the abductors to not complete their crime, we ask them all to leave the squares and open the roads, especially since Wednesday is the first day of the blessed Eid al-Fitr, and to prepare to receive the martyr's body in a manner befitting him, and to prepare to bid him farewell with a large crowd. We also prepare for the subsequent steps we will take.
On this occasion, we offer our condolences to the family of the martyr Pascal Sleiman, his parents, wife, children, relatives, his village, and his comrades, and we assure them that the blood of the martyr Pascal will not be in vain, just like the blood of all our martyrs who, through their martyrdom, have kept a space of freedom, dignity, and vigor in Lebanon.
Our march to defend the cause believed in by the martyr Pascal Sleiman continues. It is a mistake for anyone to think that through assassination, they can intimidate, scare, or deter us from continuing our march towards the establishment of a real state in which citizens feel safe and secure. Killing Pascal Sleiman is killing every citizen who seeks freedom, wants to live in peace with his family, and plans for his future. We will not allow the Lebanese to be despaired, frustrated, and pushed to emigrate. Just as we faced in tougher conditions, we will continue the struggle to defend the values we believe in, and victory will always be for the children of life and the righteous."
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