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Armed clashes in Baalbeck reportedly kill one soldier and leave five wounded

Armed clashes in Baalbeck reportedly kill one soldier and leave five wounded

Damage to a vehicle caused by armed clashed in the Charwane district of Baalbeck on June 3, 2022. (Credit: L'Orient Today)

BEIRUT — A Lebanese Army soldier was killed and five were wounded as a result of brutal armed clashes which erupted in Baalbeck, Bekaa, on Friday morning between wanted convicts and the Lebanese Army, the army said via its Twitter account.

Here’s what we know:

    • According to our correspondent in the area, exchanges of heavy fire involving automatic weapons and rocket launchers were been reported in the Charawne district in Baalbeck, sowing panic and causing material damage to some residential buildings as well as vehicles.

    • An anonymous security source told our correspondent that a soldier was killed during the fighting. The source added that several other soldiers are believed to have been injured in the gunfire.

    • The army was patrolling the area, attempting to hunt down a wanted drug dealer, nicknamed “Abou Salle”, before the clashes broke out. The ex-convict, who is still at large, was allegedly injured after being surrounded by the soldiers, but the army did not confirm this information. Several members of the gang, who are allegedly involved in drug trafficking, have been arrested, according to the army.

    • "An army unit is carrying out a search in the Charawne district in the Bekaa, looking for ex-convicts. Exchanges of fire took place, causing several injuries", the army initially explained in a tweet, without specifying the identity of the victims.

    • Lebanon’s security has markedly deteriorated in the past three years as the country grapples with a severe economic crisis. The Bekaa, which hosts a massive presence of arms as the state struggles to impose its authority, is often the scene of bloody clashes between rival clans, sometimes involving Lebanese Army soldiers. 

    • Meanwhile, owners of commercial stores in Zahle, Bekaa, staged a protest and blocked the main road of the industrial city to demand an end to the increased insecurity in the area, the state-run National News Agency reported. MPs George Okais and Elie Estephan participated in the protest in addition to the head of Zahle traders, Ziad Saade, and the head of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, George Daoud.

    • Estephan and Okais demanded that the security forces and the municipality “put an end to the insecurity, stop robberies and install security cameras," as well. 

BEIRUT — A Lebanese Army soldier was killed and five were wounded as a result of brutal armed clashes which erupted in Baalbeck, Bekaa, on Friday morning between wanted convicts and the Lebanese Army, the army said via its Twitter account.Here’s what we know:    • According to our correspondent in the area, exchanges of heavy fire involving automatic weapons and rocket launchers...