BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Angry citizens cut off the main highway linking Beirut to south Lebanon Monday to protest against the injury of two policemen by pro-Syria Palestinian gunmen.
Security sources said gunmen belonging to the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command led by Ahmed Jibril opened fire at Lebanese municipality policemen in the town of Naameh, south of Beirut.
The protesters called for closing the position of the PFLP-GC in the town as security forces cordoned off the area and started an investigation into the incident.
The protesters burned tires, cutting off the main artery between Beirut and south Lebanon for four hours, causing a long traffic jam on the eve of the Muslim feast of Adha.
Minister of Communications Marwan Hamadeh commented on the incident by calling for disarming the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon outside refugee camps.
He said having Palestinian gunmen outside the camps "has no objective but causing problems in secure areas, offering as such free pretexts to the Israeli enemy" to strike at Lebanon.
The Lebanese government has asked the PFLP-GC to close its positions in Naameh and all Palestinian military centers outside the refugee camp. But the group whose leader is based in Damascus did not respond to the government's request.
