Lebanese soldiers deployed in Tayyouneh on Oct. 14. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced Thursday that it had arrested a man suspected of having taken part in deadly armed clashes on Oct. 14 Beirut’s Tayyouneh area.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement, the military command said the suspect was arrested by intelligence services in the Laylaki area of Beirut’s southern suburbs. The army also specified that the man is suspected of having been involved in several armed incidents in different regions of the country, of having committed thefts of cars and mopeds, and of engaging in drug trafficking. A weapon and an unspecified quantity of drugs were seized during his arrest, the statement added.
• On Oct. 14, gunfire erupted in Tayyouneh as demonstrators gathered at a protest called by the Amal Movement and Hezbollah to object to what they describe as Judge Tarek Bitar’s “politization” of the investigation into the 2020 Beirut port explosion. A firefight ensued between supporters of the two Shiite parties and who they claim are supporters of the Christian Lebanese Forces. The fighting left seven people dead.
• Earlier Thursday, the Military Court confirmed the decision to release two people previously detained in relation to the fighting.