
The damaged car of Zaher Kassar, the mukhtar of Bebnine and president of the Union of Moukhars of Akkar, in Northern Lebanon, after a grenade attack on Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo provided to L'Orient Today's correspondent Michel Hallak)
As a recent series of crimes and offenses shake public opinion, new incidents occurred Monday across Lebanon. Early Tuesday morning, around 2:30 a.m., unidentified individuals threw a grenade at the residence of Zaher Kassar, mukhtar of Bebnine and president of the Union of Akkar Mukhtars, in northern Lebanon. The explosion shattered the windows of a 4x4 parked in front of the house, causing material damage but no injuries, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region reported.
In a statement, Kassar said that he was waiting for "the arrival of security services and the judicial police" so they could "conduct the necessary investigations, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice for attempted collective murder." The local official also stated that a moped had been stolen in front of his house the same night, without establishing a link between the two events. The circumstances of the crime remain unclear, and the motives of the perpetrators are still unknown.
In addition, the president of the municipal council of Beit Meri (Metn), Roy Abou Shedid, was the victim of theft Monday night in Achrafieh. According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), "individuals smashed the window of his car and stole a bag containing important documents."
On the same day, the Lebanese police announced the arrest of a 37-year-old Syrian who admitted to shooting last Sunday in the direction of Father Elie Beshaalani's car in Mreijateh, in the Bekaa. According to the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the young man explained during the investigation that the white Hyundai car of the prelate overtook him "in a manner he found provocative" in the Bhamdoun area while he was traveling from Beirut to Bekaa. The man then decided to follow the vehicle to Mreijate, where he stopped. He then went back to his home in Bar Elias to retrieve a Kalashnikov, before returning to Mreijateh and firing in the direction of the vehicle.
More patrols and personnel
On Monday, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced several measures taken by the security forces. He mentioned the intensification of patrols throughout the territory, the reinforcement of security forces personnel and emphasized that the Lebanese army would maintain "enhanced surveillance" of the border area between northeastern Lebanon and Syria, calling for "enhanced cooperation from Syrian authorities." He noted that "the number of arrests is increasing" in Lebanon, stating that 1,920 people had been apprehended for various offenses during January.
Last Saturday, Armenian archimandrite Anania Kojanian, aged 40, was found lifeless, apparently murdered, at his home in the Bsalim region of Metn. He was responsible for the affairs of the Armenian Orthodox community in Zahleh and Anjar, in the Bekaa. The same day, Khalil Khalil, a young man, was killed in Faraya, in Kesrouan, following a dispute over right of way. The Lebanese army subsequently arrested the two assailants.
On Jan. 27, the lifeless body of the owner of a gas station in Mazraat Yashouh, in Metn, was found tied up and thrown inside the restroom. Four of his Syrian employees were suspected of the murder, the motive being robbery. On Jan. 14, a car dealership was murdered in Dbayeh, also in Metn. His murderer was arrested in the southern suburbs of Beirut by the ISF. Another robbery-related crime was committed in the Achrafieh neighborhood.