EDL network in North Lebanon damaged by gun fire

Lebanon’s state electricity provider, Électricité du Liban, said Thursday that its main transmission lines in several regions, particularly in the North and Akkar, were damaged by live gunfire.

The announcement came a day after reports that a stray bullet in the Akkar town of Bibnine had seriously injured a pregnant woman and killed her nine-month-old fetus.

EDL said shootings in villages along the 220 kV transmission lines caused protective cables to fall and damaged conductors, threatening “the safety of facilities and public safety” while inflicting “considerable” harm to the network. The damage particularly affects lines that power all of North Lebanon and Akkar.

The company urged residents to stop firing at high-voltage lines, warning the practice could cut electricity to entire regions. It also called on authorities to investigate the incidents, which add new costs to the already cash-strapped utility.

Though illegal, celebratory gunfire is widespread in Lebanon. In May, Parliament passed amendments to a 2016 law increasing penalties, with sentences ranging from one to six years in prison, up to 20 years of forced labor and a fine if deaths occur. But the tougher laws have done little to curb the practice.

Between 2010 and 2021, stray bullets killed an average of seven people and injured 15 annually, according to the Beirut-based Information International research center.