Children play at a refugee camp in Lebanon. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)
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Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced new restrictions that target displaced Syrians living in Lebanon, including a crackdown on street begging and unlicensed motorcyclists. Mawlawi instructed the Interior Security Forces (ISF) to intervene against motorcycles being driven by Syrian nationals who do not have residency permits, linking the vehicles to a host of crimes. Another circular issued the same day called on municipal police and the ISF coordination to prevent panhandling, which Mawlawi claimed was being done by non-Lebanese children. Meanwhile, details were still unclear Friday morning about a violent dispute allegedly between Syrians and Lebanese at a sewing factory in Doura, though Army members were seen securing the premises Thursday night, after the incident.
Lebanese Army Major Mohammad Saleh said yesterday that Lebanon's northern border with Syria requires a tenfold increase in deployed troops to prevent smuggling and irregular migration. During an army tour of the frontier given to over 50 journalists, Saleh said 1,050 soldiers are mobilized daily to monitor the border area, organize checkpoints along known smuggling routes and conduct patrols. To complement the military presence, Saleh called for policy decisions including legal tools targeting smugglers and collaboration on border security with Syria. Over the past weeks, the army announced the interception of thousands of people attempting to illegally cross the border from Syria to Lebanon.
Transit of goods at the Beirut port returned to normal yesterday after a computer malfunction interrupted operations the day before. When Najm (an Arabic acronym for the Customs Information System) breaks down, ships can unload their goods or load cleared goods but "nothing can go through in either direction," a Beirut Port administration source told L'Orient Today. The same source added that such breakdowns have previously occurred and were resolved in one to two days. According to the latest official figures, the medium-sized port handled 2.55 million tons of goods in the first six months of the year, up 4.1 percent year-on-year.
During a sit-in outside the Justice Ministry, dozens of students protested the Lebanese University's (LU) tuition hike and demanded Middle East Airlines (MEA) pay an approximate $50 million allegedly owed to the country's sole public university. The protest is the latest in student actions decrying the tenfold increase to tuition announced in August, costing students between $140 to $190 per school year. Students are attempting to appeal the decision via the State Shura Council. In August, LU President Bassam Badran claimed the tuition increase was inevitable to ward off the university's "collapse," citing the depreciation of professors' salaries.
Caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury on Wednesday referred some 114 members of the Judges' Club to judicial inspection over their alleged non-compliance with the ministry's ban on unauthorized media appearances. The club's administrative committee appeared for a hearing on Wednesday amid an outcry against the summons in judicial circles. In April, dozens of activists, lawyers and MPs protested outside the Beirut Justice Palace to support Legal Agenda founder lawyer Nizar Saghieh as the Beirut Bar Association deliberated over his dismissal for allegedly violating the ministry’s gag order. The same month, the ministry refrained judges from "appearing in the media and giving their opinion without prior authorization."
North Lebanon Public Prosecutor Samaranda Nassar indicted six people for the abduction and murder of religious Sheikh Ahmad Rifai in February. Five of the six suspects who were arrested shortly after the crime are related to Rifai, including former Karkaf mayor Yehya Rifai, who was deposed after being placed in police custody. The indictment claims the ex-mayor and his son plotted the murder for two months before luring Rifai to Tripoli, where he was abducted, taken to Maarad, shot dead and buried in a previously dug shallow grave. Karkaf residents protested to demand authorities intervene to locate Rifai after an initial period where he was reported missing and his fate remained unknown.
German military chief Carsten Breuer vowed a €2 million donation in medicine and fuel to the Lebanese Army after a meeting with its commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, the state-run National News Agency reported. A Lebanese Army source told L'Orient Today the aid has not yet arrived. On Aug. 30, Qatar pledged to provide the army with fuel for six months. The Lebanese Army, severely hit by the country's financial crisis since 2019, regularly receives financial aid from several countries, most notably the US, Qatar, Italy, France and Turkey.
Internal Security Forces claimed the alleged shooter who fired at the US Embassy earlier this month had previously shot at other diplomatic missions. The statement claimed that the suspect opened fire at the embassy complex in August after an altercation with a diplomatic convoy. The ISF claims the perpetrator of the US Embassy shooting was taking revenge after having been slighted by embassy staff while delivering food to the mission.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Dublin buildings attract millions of euros in Hariri-linked investment”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz