Military personnel deployed on a road leading to the Bekaa village of Arsal in 2014. (Credit: File photo/AFP/Joseph Eid)
BEIRUT — There was a shootout at an army checkpoint in Tripoli Thursday after a man was detained for possessing a gun without a war pistol without a license. When the Lebanese Army detained the man, another man fired shots with his own gun towards the checkpoint, according to a statement by the army, released on Thursday.
The army personnel retaliated, resulting in the shooter sustaining injuries. He was subsequently arrested and transported to a hospital for treatment. Both the man detained and the shooter were identified as Palestinian.
The confiscated items were handed over to police and an investigation has been initiated under the supervision of the relevant judiciary.
The security situation in Lebanon has deteriorated in recent years amid an economic crisis that has plunged more than three-quarters of the population into poverty.
In late 2022, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced a "sustainable" security plan for northern Lebanon, following deadly shootings in Tripoli that raised fears of more violence. However, violence in the city has not been significantly curbed.