UN: situation in Lebanon under control

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Robert Watkins said Friday the security situation in Lebanon remains in hand and that the government is doing its job to resolve outstanding issues. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, Watkins said the situation was under control. He said that he and Mikati discussed the situation, along with the case of those kidnapped in Lebanon and Syria. Watkins was referring to the renewed clashes in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad, which have left at least 14 killed and over 78 wounded. Following his meeting with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel Thursday, Watkins said that all sides in Lebanon should refrain from usurping the role of state institutions and that the latter should not allow the presence of actors who take the law into their own hands. The armed Meqdad clan last week kidnapped over 20 Syrians and a Turkish national in retaliation for the abduction of a relative of theirs in Damascus by rebels. Some 10 Syrians and another Turkish man were also kidnapped by Al-Mukhtar Al-Thaqafi group, which demanded the release of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria on May 22. From DailyStar