Firefighters fight a fire in Akkar, North Lebanon, on Nov. 16. (Credit: Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Two men who allegedly started the huge wildfire that broke out in Beit Mery in the Metn on Nov. 13 have been arrested, the Internal Security Forces announced Thursday.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement, the police said that “following an investigation on the ground and intense investigations, the intelligence services of the ISF arrested two suspects: FR, 23, and AR, 24 years, both Syrians.”
• Many green spaces went up in smoke around mid-November following fires that sometimes threatened homes, as in Beit Mery. One of these disasters caused the death of an Egyptian worker. The high temperatures, as well as the force of the winds, made it difficult to control the fire, while the Civil Defense response was hindered by a lack of equipment and funding, due to the economic and financial crisis. Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said at the time that many of the wildfires were “man made.”