Lebanese soldiers deployed near the United States Embassy, north of Beirut, on June 5, 2024. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP.)
The Lebanese Army announced on Tuesday the arrest of three individuals in Younine, located in the Baalbeck area, suspected of firing shots into the air to celebrate municipal election results in the Bekaa. The gunfire resulted in the death of a civilian.
A statement noted, “An army unit raided the homes of suspects in Younine and detained citizens M.K., A.K., and H.K.”
Last Friday, the Army reported detaining 86 individuals suspected of celebratory gunfire following the municipal election results in Mount Lebanon and Northern Lebanon on May 4 and 11. All firearm permits in the governorates of Beirut, the Bekaa, and Baalbeck-Hermel were suspended from May 17 to 20, covering the day before and two days after the May 18 election in these areas.
On Thursday, Parliament passed a bill doubling the penalties for celebratory gunfire. The legislation, introduced by MP Achraf Beydoun, amends Law No. 71 from October 27, 2016, which already criminalizes celebratory gunfire, by increasing the penalties. This move followed two incidents on May 11 after municipal election results were announced in Tripoli, where LBCI journalist Nada Andraos and a young man, who remains in critical condition, were injured by stray bullets.
Despite being illegal, celebratory gunfire is widespread in Lebanon. The 2016 law stipulates prison terms ranging from six months to three years and up to ten years of hard labor with fines if the gunfire results in death. Despite these measures, the practice persists. According to the Beirut-based research center Information International, stray bullets caused an average of seven deaths and fifteen injuries annually from 2010 to 2021.