The Central News Agency said Suleiman ( pictured) made the remarks in messages addressed to all army officers, in the first such practice in the history of the military establishment.
"What has happened in the streets of Lebanon is a real civil war that no national army in the world can confront. Major states encountered such wars and its armies could not contain the fight," Suleiman's message said.
Such armies had been "disintegrated," Suleiman noted.
"We should not permit outbreak of the civil war," Suleiman told his officers.
However, he noted that containing a civil war can be achieved by political efforts.
Suleiman said goodwill efforts exerted both domestically and outside Lebanon could result in "settlements to the crisis. We hope such settlements would be reached soon."
Tags: Army, Civil War, Lebanon, source: Naharnet, Suleiman, Ya Libnan
