ISF members in front of a detention center in Beirut, Aug. 7, 2022. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — A fire during a mutiny at a police station in Ehden, in northern Lebanon, has left two detainees dead and two others injured, security and medical sources confirmed to L'Orient Today on Wednesday.
The two deceased are a Lebanese and a Syrian national. The two injured are of Ethiopian and Kenyan nationalities and were hospitalized in Ehden to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The Civil Defense, policemen and local residents mobilized to extinguish the fire.
A preliminary investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances of the incident. When contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) were not immediately available to provide further information about the incident.
In early October, at least three inmates died and 16 others were injured during a fire that occurred during a mutiny in the Zahle prison, located in the Bekaa Valley, following a failed escape attempt.
Lebanese prisons are grappling with extreme overcrowding; their occupancy rate has reached 323 percent, according to the Interior Ministry. Approximately 8,000 prisoners are held there, most of whom are in pretrial detention.
In September, detainees at the Sour prison in southern Lebanon self-mutilated with sharp objects to protest their detention conditions, demanding better food, improved hygiene and more rest time.
