A view of electrical wires in Beirut. EDL has warned some public institutions behind on their electricity bills that it will stop supplying power in October. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the embassy of Azerbaijan yesterday to protest the dissolution of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tachnag Secretary General Hagop Pakradounian claimed that at least four people were injured during confrontations with Internal Security Forces deployed to the protest. L’Orient Today verified that the Lebanese Red Cross treated children for asphyxiation after the use of tear gas. Nagorno-Karabakh is a region with an Armenian majority that has been at odds with Azerbaijan for more than three decades. The leader of the region, Samvel Shahramanyan, announced on Thursday that Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist in the new year and that he signed an order dissolving all state institutions on Jan. 1 of this year. Since then, tens of thousands of Armenians fled the arrival of Azerbaijani troops, fearing repression and violence.
Palestinian faction Ansar Allah leader Ibrahim Jechi claimed fighters will vacate UNRWA schools in Ain al-Hilweh by the time the joint faction force begins its second deployment on Friday. Jechi added that contacts would be made with UNRWA to repair the schools and start the school year. The UN agency reported “significant damage to school buildings and the looting of educational materials for children and equipment from the schools” in its call for fighters to vacate eight of its occupied teaching facilities. The joint force deployed to two points of confrontation in the camp on Monday. Force Commander Mahmoud Ajoury previously told L’Orient Today the deployment would facilitate the surrender of alleged assassins whose actions in late June instigated the clashes that have since left at least 30 people dead. Hundreds of people remain displaced by the fighting.
An Internal Security Forces statement claimed the automatic gunfire targeting the US embassy earlier this month was reportedly motivated by “revenge” after embassy staff insulted the alleged shooter while he was delivering food to the mission. The 26-year-old man accused of the attack was arrested on Monday for firing over a dozen bullets with a Kalashnikov towards the embassy on Sept. 20. The ISF statement claimed the suspect opened fire at the General Security directorate in Adlieh on three separate occasions in 2021 after they refused to issue his passport. The shooting coincided with the anniversary of a deadly 1984 car bombing outside an annex of the US Embassy in Beirut, which Washington has attributed to Hezbollah. Several statements decrying the shooting surmised that its motive was to send a message.
Electricité du Liban issued a warning to public institutions in arrears on their electricity bills, saying it would stop supplying electricity to institutions that do not settle their dues by Oct. 24. The cash-strapped state utility faces numerous issues with its bill collections, including areas with low payment rates, difficulties converting lira to dollars and fraudulent collectors. EDL’s lacunary electricity supply, reaching upwards of just six to eight hours per day in limited areas of Beirut, forces reliance on costly private generator subscriptions and solar panel installations.
Approximately 10 activists protested inside the Education Ministry against issues affecting public schools and the Lebanese University, citing a lack of transparency in the ministry, absent public school funding and the integration of Syrian students into regular classes. A ministry spokesperson said the protesters were denied a meeting with caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi because they refused to turn off their phones. The 2023 official baccalaureate exams tested a reduced curriculum after a prolonged strike by teachers demanding improved compensation piled on to material, staff and funding shortages afflicting the school year.
The Finance and Budget parliamentary committee rejected the 2023 draft budget law, citing the text’s lateness, inaccurate figures and the government’s approval of next year’s budget. Committee chief Ibrahim Kanaan told L’Orient Today he has yet to receive the 2024 budget law despite its approval more than two weeks ago. The caretaker cabinet’s approval of the 2024 budget on Sept. 12 marked the first time a Lebanese government has approved a budget on time since 2002. The 2023 text was sent back to the government with a request from the committee for its measures to be included in the 2024 budget. The constitutional deadline for passing the yearly budget is the end of January.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “REEF: Stories from a changing land”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
