Residents of 15 villages ask for protection and humanitarian corridors

BEIRUT — The residents of 15 villages in South Lebanon, including several Christian localities — Rmeish, Ain Ebel, Dibil and Qlayaa — sent a letter Thursday to PM Nawaf Salam, requesting protection and the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the delivery of food and medicine.

"We have chosen to remain in our localities," reads the letter, which calls on the head of government to "ensure the protection of residents who are holding out," and demands the deployment of "Internal Security Forces [ISF] and army soldiers."

They also ask for "humanitarian corridors to deliver food, medicine, infant formula, fuel and other essential items for daily life, in order to support the resilience and continuity of the residents."

Contacted by our correspondent in South Lebanon, the mayor of Rmeish explained that Salam "paid great attention to the requests and will do his utmost to meet them."

'Obligation to open humanitarian corridors'

This appeal was echoed in the sermon Thursday by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai. "We also remind the international community of the obligation, under international law, to open humanitarian corridors to besieged populations and those persisting in their homes and localities so that food, medicine and essential goods can reach them," he urged.

Information Minister Paul Morcos also told the Saudi channel al-Hadath that the villages in South Lebanon "needed a permanent humanitarian corridor, as well as attention, monitoring and vigilance so that their residents can remain there."

On Wednesday, the Maronite bishops called on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to protect civilians and ensure they receive needed supplies, as only one route now connects southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, north of Sour, and residents' movements are regularly targeted — as was the case last week when a father and son traveling between Rmeish and Dibil were killed.

The bishops' call was supported by MP Melhem Khalaf (Beirut - Protest Movement), who urged Lebanese officials to call upon the U.N. and Lebanon's "international relations" to open humanitarian corridors to the villages in the south.