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BEIRUT: Rival Christian leaders Samir Geagea and Sleiman Frangieh Wednesday turned the page on a bloody 40-year-old Civil War feud in a reconciliation meeting held under the patronage of Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai.
The meeting between Geagea, who heads the Lebanese Forces, and Frangieh, the leader of the Marada Movement, took place in Bkirki, the seat of the Maronite Church, in the presence of members of both parties. It began with a long handshake and then kisses on both cheeks, to applause from those in attendance, and was followed by a closed-door meeting with Rai.
Frangieh’s father and Geagea had been political rivals since the Civil War, as the Frangiehs are a close Syria ally while Geagea is an outspoken critic of Damascus.
Geagea is accused of leading a 1978 attack on Zgharta’s Ehden that left 30 people dead, including the Marada Movement leader’s father, Tony, mother and toddler sister in one of the war’s most gruesome incidents, known as the Ehden massacre.
Frangieh survived as he had been spending the night at the home of his grandfather, former President Sleiman Frangieh.
The LF leader has denied responsibility for the killings, saying he was wounded in the initial assault, while Frangieh has requested an apology on...