The leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces party on Thursday refuted claims by rival Shiite Hezbollah of seeking to start a civil war.

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In an interview with Lebanese broadcaster MTV, Samir Geagea said the confrontation with Hezbollah was purely political and must remain so.

The Lebanese Forces is a registered political party with official members, he said, contrary to Hezbollah which "legally does not exist as it is not registered with the Interior Ministry and its members are accused of various crimes."

"We do not have fighters," Geagea said.

Nobody should think about confronting Hezbollah militarily, Geagea added, saying that doing so would be a big mistake.

Already suffering a devastating economic meltdown, Lebanon has been overshadowed by renewed tensions since seven Shiite Muslims were shot dead in Beirut last week during the worst street violence in the capital in more than a decade.

The heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah accused the Lebanese Forces of perpetrating the killing and attempting to instigate a civil war.

"The real agenda of the Lebanese Forces is civil war," Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech, adding that his Iran-backed terrorist organization would not be dragged into one.

Thursday's shooting started as supporters of the Shiite group and ally Amal were gathering for a demonstration against Tarek Bitar, the lead investigator in the Beirut port blast probe.

Geagea said that while he initially thought Hezbollah had nothing to do with the explosion, "with its recent actions it is telling us that perhaps it might be concerned" over the matter.

Hezbollah has been leading demands for Bitar to be removed, accusing him of bias. The lead investigator has sought to question several Hezbollah allies on suspicion of negligence that led to the blast, which killed more than 200 people and devastated swathes of Beirut.

In its efforts to stop the probe, Hezbollah has taken the current government "hostage," Geagea said, referring to how the standoff over Bitar has paralyzed the cabinet.

Geagea also told reporters that he had been summoned for questioning over the shooting.

"I am ready to appear before the judge, on one condition: that Hassan Nasrallah does it before me," he said.

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Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, told The Associated Press that Monday's military border skirmish with Israel was a clear indication the current Lebanese government, which Hezbollah supports, doesn't have sovereignty in the south, along Israel's border, where thousands of UN peacekeepers are based.

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The IDF said it thwarted an infiltration attempt Monday by Hezbollah terrorists, setting off one of the heaviest exchanges of fire along the volatile Israel-Lebanon frontier since the 2006 Second Lebanon War between the bitter enemies. Hezbollah denied its members were involved in any activity along the border while the Lebanese government commented only a day later.

"Yesterday's incident gives a clear idea about the state of sovereignty for the Lebanese state. Is that acceptable?" Geagea said in the telephone interview. "Which Arab and foreign countries want to deal with a government that considers itself nonexistent at a time when there is a security danger along its border?"

Hezbollah and its allies of the Free Patriotic Movement of President Aoun control majority seats in parliament and are the main backers of the current government that took office earlier this year. Prime Minister Hassan Diab replaced Western-backed Saad Hariri who resigned in October, following nationwide protests against widespread corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon's rulers.

Since then, the government has struggled to contain the escalating crisis, made worse by the pandemic. The government defaulted on paying back its debt for the first time in March, and the past few months have seen the Lebanese currency lose more than 80% of its value.

The government has requested a bailout from the International Monetary Fund but negotiations with the lender that started in mid-May have stalled because of divisions within the Lebanese leadership. Oil-rich gulf nations as well as international donors are refusing to give Lebanon a hand before major reforms are carried out within state institutions.

Geagea, whose party has taken part in successive governments for the past decade and has 15 legislators in the 128-member parliament, said Lebanon received much assistance from Arab and Western countries in the past but all was wasted. Only a new, independent government would be able to win back the international community's confidence, he said.

Geagea warned the alliance between Hezbollah and Aoun's party "has brought Lebanon to where it is and they will continue to do the same in the months to come."

"As long as they are in power we will continue in the crisis. It is a very simple and clear equation," Geagea said. "They are living on a different planet."

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The state's strategic decisions are in Hezbollah's hands, leading to deteriorating Lebanon's relations with Arab states, he also said.

Geagea, whose party played a major role in Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, said that once Hezbollah withdraws its fighters from Yemen, Syria and Iraq, and stops implementing Iran's policy, Arab states will most likely review relations with Lebanon.

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