Weapons seized by the Lebanese army. (Credit: Lebanese Army)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced on Wednesday that it had raided the houses of suspects in the village of Brital (Baalbeck district) and the countryside of Arsal where they arrested three citizens who were in possession of unlicensed weapons.
According to the army's statement, during the raids on Brital, one of its units, backed by a patrol from the Intelligence Directorate, arrested a Lebanese citizen who is wanted for firing his weapons, which were seized along with ammunition, although it was not clarified on what or at whom he had fired.
A separate unit, also backed by an Intelligence Directorate patrol, raided the homes of wanted persons in the Arsal countryside and arrested two Lebanese citizens, brothers, for trafficking military weapons. The unit also seized a number of shells and rocket-propelled grenades.
The army also announced having seized a large quantity of military weapons and ammunition in the Wadi Faara area in the Arsal countryside.
The seized items were handed over, and investigations have been launched into the cases of each arrested individual.
The Lebanese Army, under the political directives laid out by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun, has been working to establish the state's monopoly on weapons in the country, a process which is mostly focused on the arsenal belonging to Hezbollah, which has been negotiating with Aoun on the matter for several months now.