A copy of the decision by the Beirut summary affairs judge, posted on LU's warehouse in Jnah, circulates on social media.
The administration of the Lebanese University (LU) denied on Saturday reports claiming that weapons had been hidden in a warehouse it rents in Jnah, a suburb south of Beirut, which is not part of its campuses. These allegations had been circulated on social media and by some media outlets, which claimed the facility was linked to the Faculty of Arts.
In a statement, LU's administration acknowledged, however, that "a few military uniforms, suitcases, and locked boxes with unknown contents" were found in the warehouse during an inspection to assess damages from recent Israeli airstrikes. During the inspection, "it was noticed that the locks on the warehouse, which was used to store materials and perishable equipment, had been replaced."
LU teams immediately conducted an examination of the contents in the presence of the public university's lawyer, the property owner, and the warehouse guard.
An investigation has been launched after the warehouse was sealed with red wax, following a decision by the Beirut summary affairs judge, the Lebanese University (LU) stated.
In its statement, LU's administration emphasized that "as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the educational environment within its faculties and institutes, it calls on all media outlets to exercise caution and diligence when publishing information about the presence of weapons in any of the university's affiliated buildings, particularly under the current circumstances. It urges avoiding the dissemination or exaggeration of such information without awaiting the results of investigations conducted by the competent security services."
Before the ceasefire that took effect on Nov. 27 between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli army heavily bombarded the southern suburbs of Beirut, claiming to target Hezbollah's infrastructure and weapons depots. The Jnah neighborhood, along with Hadath — home to LU’s main campus — was not spared from these strikes, which were sometimes preceded by warnings. The attacks resulted in thousands of casualties and caused billions of dollars in damages across several regions of the country.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
