Ghobeiry Municipality: Armed assault on patrol at Bir Hassan cemetery during attempt to stop land encroachment

A municipal police patrol in Beirut’s southern suburb of Ghobeiry was shot at on Wednesday while attempting to prevent illegal encroachment on cemetery land in Bir Hassan, according to a statement from the Ghobeiry Municipality.

The municipality's media office stated Wednesday that “after receiving confirmed information that [ a man from the area and his brothers] had once again encroached on the remaining vacant land within the Bir Hassan cemetery, by removing the iron barrier in preparation to illegally seize the land, the municipality dispatched a patrol from the municipal police and a work crew from the public works department to the site in order to restore the situation and prevent further violations of private property.”

It added that “while the patrol was carrying out its mission, its members were confronted by [the man's] sons and several others, who assaulted the patrol. The situation escalated into direct gunfire using an automatic weapon and a handgun aimed at the patrol and municipal workers, posing a serious threat to their lives. Fortunately, no injuries occurred due to divine protection.”

The municipality presented this incident to the public, the Interior Ministry and all concerned authorities, emphasizing that “for years, it has been calling on political, security and religious authorities to put an end to these repeated violations of the cemetery. Salhab and his brothers continue to commit grave offenses, including exhuming graves and reselling them — blatant violations of the sanctity of the dead and a flagrant breach of all religious, human, and moral values.”

The municipality reaffirmed its commitment to "protecting public and private property and preserving the dignity of the cemetery." It called on "judicial, religious, and security authorities to take responsibility and immediately enact strict legal measures against the perpetrators."