The Lebanese Army officer who was wounded in Dahr al-Baidar is at the Chtoura Hospital. (Credit: Lebanese Army website)
A person reportedly affiliated with Hezbollah opened fire on a Lebanese Army officer on Saturday at a checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar, in the Bekaa Valley.
This unprecedented incident came at a time when the army and the government are under increasing pressure from the Americans and Israelis to speed up the Hezbollah militia’s disarmament and to prevent its funding.
While soldiers were attempting to arrest Hadi Malak Nassereddine for possession of three kilograms of cocaine, an altercation broke out.
Nassereddine then fired at one of the officers, wounding him in the side. The officer was admitted to Chtoura Hospital, where his condition is stable, while the shooter was arrested.
The army, which did not mention his affiliation with Hezbollah, issued a statement confirming the incident and noted that the individual “refused to stop at an army checkpoint.”
According to some press reports, the troops had previously gathered intelligence on the trafficker and set up an ambush. The army statement added that the soldiers “arrested the individual and launched an investigation under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities.”
Hezbollah spokesperson Youssef Zein told L’Orient-Le Jour that “this is an isolated incident perpetrated by a resident of Baalbeck and is not connected to Hezbollah.”
This statement, however, is disputed. “Hadi Malak Nassereddine does indeed belong to Hezbollah,” said a source from the trafficker’s home village. The same source added, “But it is uncertain that he acted on the party’s orders.”
Speaking to L’Orient-Le Jour on condition of anonymity, another source who closely follows Hezbollah-related affairs expressed a similar view, and noted that even if the trafficker turns out to be a Hezbollah member, “the incident probably has no connection to the organization, which has no valid reason to fire at the army.”
“On the day the ‘resistance’ turns its weapons on the military institution, or on the Internal Security Forces, that will be its end. That is the party’s line,” said another Hezbollah official.
According to the Al Markazia news agency, “the shooter is the same individual involved in the Kahaleh case.” L’Orient‑Le Jour was unable to verify this information independently.
In August 2023, a Hezbollah-owned truck overturned on the Kahaleh road bend (Aley district), prompting the Lebanese Army to deploy, after a fire exchange between Hezbollah members and the local residents, leaving one dead and several wounded.
Political specialist Karim Mufti, for his part, believes that Hezbollah, “surrounded on all sides and with its coffers running dry, is probably not entirely uninvolved in this incident.”
Indeed, the amount of drugs seized remains small and is not enough to push the militia toward a confrontation with the army. “Unless this is one link in a chain through which the party intermittently seeks to secure and guarantee some revenue,” Mufti added.
However, Hezbollah denies any involvement. “A portion of public opinion is always ready to attribute the slightest incident to us. Once and for all: Hezbollah considers drug consumption and trafficking to be forbidden by religion. Soon, we’ll even be accused of being behind the war between Russia and Ukraine,” said a party official sarcastically.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour by Joelle El Khoury.
