A ship of the Lebanese Navy. (Credit: Lebanese Army)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced in a statement Thursday the arrest of 34 people between the Sarafand and Saida regions who were preparing to illegally sail to Europe.
Here’s what we know:
• The army statement indicated that women and children were among the individuals stopped, adding that the case has been transferred to the judiciary and an investigation is underway.
• In a follow-up statement the army announced that “preliminary investigations showed that among the 34 people who were arrested this morning … a gang of six Syrians is working to smuggle people to European countries illegally.”
• Numerous individuals have attempted clandestine migration by sea over the past three years since the onset of the crises in Lebanon. In early June, the army intercepted 64 illegal migrants, among whom were Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian nationals, on a shore between Klayaat and Cheikh Zinad in North Lebanon. In April, a boat carrying illegal migrants sank off the coast of Qalamoun, 45 people were intercepted while six bodies were found drowned and around 30 others remain missing.
• Lebanon has been facing a severe socio-economic crisis since 2019 marked by steep inflation with the local currency losing over 90 percent of its value and 80 percent of the population slipping under the poverty line. The worsening living conditions have pushed many citizens to leave with an estimated 230,000 citizens leaving Lebanon in the first four months of 2021 and a demand for passports that has caused months-long waiting lists for renewal and issuances.