Lebanese soldiers on board an armored vehicle in 2017 in the Bekaa,on the border with Syria. (Credit: Illustrative photo taken from the official army website)
BEIRUT — The funeral of a Lebanese Army soldier killed during clashes with wanted convicts in Baalbeck on Friday was held on Saturday while the military continued its search for the outlaws, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the area reported.
Here’s what we know:
• Zein Chamas, a 28-year-old soldier from Baalbeck who enrolled into the Lebanese Army in 2012, was killed and five other soldiers were wounded Friday during the hunt for wanted drug dealer “Abou Salle” in an exchange of heavy fire involving automatic weapons and rocket launchers. Chamas’s funeral Saturday was accompanied by live gunfire.
• The army conducted further patrols in the Charwane district in Baalbeck, the site of the clashes. Someone suspected of supplying medical assistance to Abou Salle during his evasion Friday was arrested, our correspondent added.
• The army released a statement Friday night announcing that five people had been arrested after the raid on Abou Salle’s home. Numerous military weapons were seized, as were drugs and precursors for their manufacture, it added.
• The Bekaa, where non-state arms are widely prevalent as the state struggles to impose its authority, is often the scene of bloody clashes between rival clans, sometimes involving Lebanese Army soldiers.