BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman paid tribute Thursday to two Lebanese Army soldiers killed in an attack in the eastern border town of Arsal two weeks ago.

“On Valentine’s Day I cannot but express my deepest sympathy with those who have lost a lover, particularly the widows of the two martyrs – Pierre Bashalani and Ibrahim Zahraman,” Sleiman tweeted.

“Let us put a red rose on the closest martyr grave or national landmark,” he wrote.

Capt. Pierre Bashalani, 31, and Sgt. Ibrahim Zahraman, 32, were killed in an ambush on a Lebanese Army unit in Arsal Feb. 1.

Meanwhile, a delegation representing locals from Arsal and nearby Baalbek and Hermel visited the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Mathaf, Beirut, to pay respects to Bashalani and Zahraman.

“We condemn violence in all its forms,” a statement from the delegation said, adding that locals will not tolerate any harm to the Lebanese Army.