Lebanon's Christian Kataeb Party called on Monday to prepare for a field confrontation to bring down the Lebanese government "by all available means," after at least 27 people were killed in a fuel tank explosion in Akkar in northern Lebanon.
The party, which played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War, called on Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the entire Lebanese parliament to resign and called on the United Nations Security council to hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Lebanon.
“The Lebanese are subjected to a genocide carried out by a criminal group. Thus, support must be provided for them so as to stand socially and economically during these difficult circumstances until the parliamentary elections are held and a democratic transition is secured under an international supervision,” read a statement issued by the Kataeb Political Bureau following its weekly meeting in Saifi.
The party warned that it could no longer stay silent about the "crimes of this murderous regime, and its patron and guide, Hezbollah, which repeatedly explodes its people and leaves them to their fate."
“The time has come to put an end to this suicidal slope, to renounce this authority with its entire system, and prepare for a field confrontation to bring it down by all available means,” added the Kataeb Party.
The party also warned against suppressing the rebels and trying to intimidate them through arrest, calling these practices worthy of what it called an occupying power.
On Saturday night, a fuel tank exploded in Akkar in northern Lebanon, killing at least 27 people and injuring dozens. As of Monday morning, searches were ongoing for missing persons.
On Sunday, Lebanese reports indicated that the fuel tanks had been holding fuel which was meant to be smuggled to Syria. Hezbollah has been accused of smuggling oil from Lebanon into Syria in the past.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing and no official statement has been made concerning the cause of the explosion.
The explosion quickly led to another explosion in the Lebanese political scene as some officials from the Future Movement, led by former prime minister Saad Hariri, and the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by Aoun and allied with Hezbollah, accused one another of being responsible for the situation and even going as far as accusing specific MPs of being directly involved with the tanks that exploded.
Lebanese media reports have expressed concerns that the anger and unrest following the explosion could devolve into violence.
On Sunday, former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri called for Lebanese President Michel Aoun to resign, telling him to "leave now and preserve some dignity for your future, because you will not find an embassy to shelter you soon or a plane that will help you escape the curse of history."
During a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council on Sunday, Aoun warned against "the politicization of the tragedy that occurred in Al-Tleil and the exploitation of the blood of the martyrs to raise slogans and launch calls that clearly reveal the intentions of those who launched them and their involvement in schemes aimed at harming the regime and its institutions."