Several men suspected of burglary in houses in the town of Nabatieh and surrounding villages were arrested by residents of Zefta, Ali Hamzeh, confirmed the mayor of the village to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in the south.
The suspects were tied to electricity poles along the main road in the village, with a sign saying "thief." According to images sent to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent, at least three people were arrested by local residents, their heads partially shaved and their clothes torn. Some appear to have been beaten.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Hamzeh claimed to have seen these suspects tied up as he was leaving the town, assuring that these "arrests" were the work of "a few young people who watch over the village at night."
A similar scene was observed last Wednesday in Ghobeiry, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where men were also assaulted and tied to poles after alleged thefts in empty apartments.
Security forces remain mobilized in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been under Israeli air force bombs since the start of a broader offensive on Sept. 23, but it is now more difficult for them to do their job, according to local sources. The Internal Security Forces (ISF) did not immediately respond to L'Orient-Le Jour's request for comment.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.