ASIA/LEBANON - Lebanese PMS Director: Saudi execution of Imam al-Nimr has catastrophic consequences for Lebanon and the Middle East

Beirut (Agenzia Fides) - The sentencing to death of Shiite Imam Nimr Bakr al-Nimr, commissioned by the Saudi government on January 2, "has as immediate effect the worsening of the Lebanese institutional crisis, but its catastrophic effects are already being registered on all the scenarios of conflict that plague the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq and Yemen". This is how Maronite priest Rouphael Zgheib, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Lebanon, describes the consequences triggered following the execution of the Shiite religious leader. "In Lebanon, where the vetoes among the political blocs have so far prevented the election of the President of the Republic, vacant since May 2014" refers to Agenzia Fides don Rouphael, "there was an attempt before Christmas to broaden the consensus around the candidacy of Suleiman Franjieh. That attempt had the support of Saudi Arabia, but that is why it had not so far gained the support of the Shiite of Hezbollah. According to the Director of the PMS in Lebanon, the "targeted and very strong provocation" in Riyadh "may have the effect of blocking the fragile peace projects with which one tried to counter the ongoing conflicts in the region. After what happened, the prospects for peace seem to crumble, and are likely to ignite yet more conflict in Yemen, Syria and Iraq". (GV) (Fides 04/01/2016)

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