BEIRUT (CNS) – Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic bishops underscored their “full confidence” in the country’s military and security forces as the Lebanese army battled Islamist militants’ incursion into Lebanon near the border with Syria.

The Maronite Council of Bishops said, “We condemn the unrest and express our complete support to the army and security forces as should all political powers.”

The bishops urged “friendly states” to extend the military and logistical support needed to enable the army to confront terrorism.

The population of Arsal, a Sunni Muslim town of about 40,000, has nearly tripled because of the presence of Syrian refugees and rebels because of the ongoing war in Syria.