Arida residents fear flooding of the al-Kabir River due to public works ministry projects

Residents of the border town of Arida in Akkar district, northern Lebanon, have expressed worries that their homes and fields might flood because of a dam built by the Public Works Ministry at the mouth of the Nahr al-Kabir River.

This is due to work carried out to reopen the Arida border crossing between Lebanon and Syria and to make it easier for cars and buses to pass, our northern Lebanon correspondent reports.

During a symbolic sit-in on Saturday in front of the Arida border post, they also protested the disruptions and additional expenses these projects cause fishermen, who are now forced to moor their boats outside the fishing port.

Residents also voiced their fear, with winter approaching, of an al-Kabir River flood after part of its bed was blocked by debris due to the destruction of the bridge by Israeli airstrikes during the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah.

"The high river flow will inevitably lead to a significant rise in the water level, and the village of Arida will be the first to be flooded, as will all the fields and lands along the river's course in Arida, Samakia and Hakr al-Dahri. These vast areas will be transformed into a huge lake," they lamented.

The residents called on the relevant authorities, especially the Public Works and Transport Ministry, to urgently find solutions in order to protect the lives and property of the people living in the villages on the Lebanese bank of the al-Kabir River, warning of escalation if this is not done.