A police patrol in Beirut. (Credit: File photo/Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — A physical altercation occured on Saturday between the mayor of the village of Bsaba (Chouf district) and an engineer, Tony Metlej, according to local media outlets. Both the Bsaba municipality and the Order of Engineers confirmed the incident and issued statements.
Initial reports from local media indicated that the mayor, his son, the municipal police chief, and Syrian workers were involved in the altercation, but did not specify the cause of the confrontation. On Sunday, the Bsaba municipality provided its account of the events:
"On Saturday at 3 p.m., ... Metlej proceeded to illegally work on a building despite a municipal order to halt the work. When the mayor of Bsaba arrived with municipal employees and the police, ... Metlej addressed the mayor with offensive words, expelled him from the property and tried to provoke him in front of cameras. So, the mayor pushed him to defend his employees, and a fight occurred. Then, [the mayor] tried to prevent anyone from attacking Metlej."
The municipality added that the mayor was "not accompanied by any non-Lebanese individuals" and is "in the process of filing a criminal complaint against those who assaulted its president and employees and violated laws and regulations."
The mayor of Bsaba was not immediately available for comment.
Meanwhile, the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut and Tripoli said on Sunday that following the incident, it contacted the Interior Ministry and other authorities. It stated that it was informed that the "Public Prosecution will summon the assailants tomorrow morning to start an investigation that will lead to the accountability of all those involved."
The Order emphasized its commitment to pursuing the case to ensure accountability and to protect engineers from similar attacks. "In this context, we emphasize that the Syndicate will pursue this case until it ensures that all those who caused the harm to the colleague are held accountable and that it will pursue legal prosecution for anyone who attempts to attack any engineer doing his work."