Gas canisters and a burned-out vehicle, on March 20, 2025, three days after clashes between Lebanese clans and Syrian forces in the Lebanese village of Qasr, near Hoch el-Sayed Ali, in Hermel. (Credit: Emmanuel Haddad/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEKAA — Two young men from the Jaafar family were shot in the legs on Friday while in the vicinity of the town of al-Qasr, in the Hermel region (northern Bekaa), along the Lebanese-Syrian border, according to our correspondent.
They were taken to a hospital inside Lebanese territory.
An investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances of the incident and identify those responsible for the gunfire. The Lebanese Army has deployed reinforcements to the scene, our correspondent added.
Two Lebanese youths were kidnapped ten days ago in the same area, which has seen regular clashes since the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus in December 2024, before being released a few hours later by the new Syrian security forces.
Tensions in this region are tied to the undefined border demarcation with Syria and the loss of influence by Hezbollah and the Shiite clans allied with the town, extending even into the Syrian region of Qoussair, to the benefit of the new Sunni Islamist coalition now ruling Syria. The Jaafar family is one of the main Shiite families living in this region on the Lebanese side.
Reporting by our regional correspondent, Sarah Abdallah.
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