A group of people pose in front of the new Christmas tree erected in front of Saint Georges Church in Tripoli, North Lebanon, on Dec. 24, 2023. (Photo sent by our correspondent Michel Hallak)
The Lebanese army announced on Thursday evening that it had arrested three individuals in Dinnieh, suspected of setting fire to a Christmas tree in front of a church in Tripoli, North Lebanon, and "shouting seditious slogans."
In a statement, the troop said that "an intelligence patrol arrested three men in the area known as Champ al-Azima in Dinnieh, (S.S.), (H.K.) and (A.S)". They are accused of having "set fire to a Christmas tree on Dec. 30, 2023, and chanted religious slogans inciting sectarian conflict," the statement said, noting that an investigation had been opened.
This is the second arrest made by the army following the burning of two Christmas trees in Tripoli. The first tree was set alight on Dec. 24 in front of Saint Georges Church, in the Zahrieh district, using a Molotov cocktail. A new tree was quickly reinstalled, and three days later, on Dec. 27, the army announced the arrest of a suspect (W.B.). Then, on Dec. 30, a Christmas tree was set alight in the Mina district.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.