View of the citadel of Rashaya, in the Bekaa. (Credit: National News Agency)
Residents of the Druze village of Dahr al-Ahmar, in the Bekaa district of Rashaya, stopped a van carrying weapons on Wednesday evening, reports our correspondent in the region, Sarah Abdallah, citing local sources. The army reportedly intervened on the spot and requisitioned the weapons found in the vehicle belonging to a displaced person who had taken refuge in Rashaya, our correspondent adds.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the army did not confirm the incident and said it was awaiting the end of the investigation on the ground before providing further information. A Hezbollah spokeswoman did not respond to our requests for information.
A video shot at night and circulating on social networks shows angry residents filming missile-like objects in the back of a white van containing numerous bags.
“After the liquidation of party cadres and the appointment of new ones, it's clear that Hezbollah's new leaders don't have enough experience in arms smuggling. The residents of Rashaya easily discovered the Hezbollah vehicles carrying weapons and missiles and banned these vehicles from hiding in their area,” wrote a web user on X, who describes himself as a journalist who has left the ranks of the party.
For its part, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), which predominates in the region, said in a statement that the vehicle was stopped by “security forces, as well as military and municipal forces,” “as part of measures to protect residents and displaced persons.” The PSP further assured that the aforementioned forces should be the only reference and called for cooperation in such incidents.
A similar incident took place on Aug. 6, 2021, when residents of the Druze village of Shwaya, in the Hasbaya district, intercepted a truck carrying a Hezbollah rocket launcher passing through their village. The truck had been used that day by the party to launch more than 10 rockets towards Israel, which then retaliated with artillery strikes. A video widely circulated on social networks after the incident showed angry villagers in Shwaya, some in traditional Druze dress, blocking the passage of the truck and accusing Hezbollah of endangering civilian lives by launching rockets near residential areas.
The intensification of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel at the end of September prompted more than a million people to leave their homes, particularly in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and Beirut's southern suburbs. Several Israeli strikes in recent weeks have reportedly targeted Hezbollah officials among the displaced in several Lebanese regions. Apart from strikes on the border villages of Shebaa, Kfar Shuba and Hebbarieh, the Hasbaya region has so far been relatively untouched by bombardment. However, a deadly air raid on a compound housing reporters in Hasbaya killed three journalists at the end of October.
