A fire in Doueir, Nabatieh region in the south of Lebanon, after a fight occurred on June 13. (Credit: ANI)
BEIRUT — After a brawl between members of the Qanso and Qubaisi families left two dead, tension mounted Monday evening in Doueir, near Nabatieh in South Lebanon, where several properties belonging to one of the gunmen were vandalized in revenge, state-run National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• Shops, offices and unoccupied apartments belonging to Ahmad Qanso, suspected of killing the two victims on Monday, were vandalized and set on fire by members of the Qubaisi family to avenge the murder of one of their own, according to the NNA.
• Yesterday, the NNA reported on a quarrel that erupted between Ahmad Qanso along with his son and their neighbor from the Qubaisi family, who is from the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya and a resident of Doueir. The dispute soon escalated, when young men came to support Qubaisi.
• In addition to one member of the Qubaisi family who died of his injuries, another member of the Rammal family, Hussein Barq, 45, was killed on Monday after being hit by seven bullets in the chest and stomach while he was at the scene of the dispute, the NNA reported. Ahmad Qanso quickly surrendered to the police, but a tense atmosphere prevailed in the locality, forcing the army to deploy there.
• Armed clashes between rival families are a regular occurrence in parts of Lebanon, where the security situation has worsened as a result of the country's unprecedented economic decline. Law enforcement agencies struggle to prevent such incidents, while weapons circulate freely and unchecked around the country.