Funeral ceremony of Lebanese army soldiers killed during clashes with drug traffickers. (Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday offered condolences to Lebanese Army commander Rodolph Haykal after two soldiers were killed the previous day while pursuing drug traffickers in Baalbek, vowing that the military will not be deterred amid rising political scrutiny of its role.
Aoun, in his condolences to Haykal, cited by the state-run National News Agency (NNA), said “nothing will deter the Army from carrying out its national duty, neither suspicious campaigns nor incitement nor doubt, from any side, whether internal or external.”
Two Lebanese soldiers were killed, and three others were injured during the clashes with fugitives. Following that, the army conducted a series of raids in the Sharawneh neighborhood of Baalbeck. A man described by the Lebanese Army as a dangerous fugitive was also killed.
Aoun’s reference to incitement and doubt came just hours after Haykal’s planned meetings with U.S. officials in Washington — initially scheduled for Wednesday — were abruptly canceled. In parallel, several U.S. senators issued statements expressing dissatisfaction with the Lebanese Army’s handling of Hezbollah’s disarmament.
According to NNA, Aoun also wished the wounded a speedy recovery, adding: “Once again, the army pays with the blood of its men the price of protecting Lebanese society from the scourge of drugs on the one hand and enforcing the law on the other."
“Yesterday’s two martyrs have joined a long line of their comrades who sacrificed what was most precious to them out of loyalty to their oath, reaffirming the determination of the military institution, in cooperation with other security forces, to continue enforcing the laws, pursuing offenders, and reducing crime in all its forms, while simultaneously protecting the borders and extending state authority,” he added.
The two soldiers killed were identified as Bilal Baradei, 44, a father of three, and Ali Haidar, 32, a father of two. Both were from Baalbeck.
Residents of the city denounced the killings and announced a full closure of shops and private establishments on Wednesday in mourning. Baalbeck private schools also suspended classes.
Clashes between drug traffickers and the Lebanese Army have increased in Baalbeck in recent months, with the military resorting to airstrikes against traffickers on at least two occasions. Lebanon has faced pressure from Gulf states to curb the production and trafficking of narcotics, particularly captagon, an illegal synthetic amphetamine.
Funeral ceremony
The Lebanese Army Command held a funeral ceremony for the two soldiers on Wednesday in front of al-Murtada Hospital in Baalbeck, according to our regional correspondent. Military leaders, officers from the army and Intelligence Directorate in the Ablah and Baalbeck barracks, and the fallen soldiers’ families attended.
Two military vehicles then transported the bodies. The first carried Baradei to Baalbeck’s cemetery, where he will be laid to rest at 2:30 p.m. in an official ceremony attended by representatives of Defense Minister Michel Menassah and Haykal.
The second transported Haidar’s body to his home village of Maaraboun, east of Baalbeck, where he will be buried at 1 p.m. in a ceremony also attended by representatives of Menassah and Haykal.
During the funeral of Haidar, defense minister representative and the army commander, General Mohammad Janbein, delivered a speech in which he stated that the Baalbeck region “reaffirms today, as in the past, its solidarity and loyalty to the army and the homeland.”
At the same time, a funeral was held for the accused, from the Jaafar family, who was killed during the army raid. During the ceremony, gunfire into the air and RPG rockets were reported in the Sharawneh neighborhood.
Reporting contributed by our correspondent in Baalbeck, Sarah Abdallah.
