Internal Security Forces officers in Beirut. (Credit: Illustrative photo by Hassan Ammar/AFP/Archives)
Two inmates, a Lebanese and a Syrian, attempted to escape from the detention center at the Zahle courthouse during the night from Sunday to Monday, after forcing the lock on their cell and assaulting two members of the Internal Security Forces (ISF).
Security forces regained control of the situation within less than an hour, with no detainee managing to leave the premises, our correspondent in the region reports.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), the two inmates were able, at around 1 a.m., to force and then remove the lock from their cell door. They then assaulted two ISF officers, tied them up, and seized the keys to ten other cells. They managed to open those cells in an attempt to incite other inmates to escape and assist them. However, the majority of the detainees reportedly did not respond to this call, distancing themselves from the operation.
Security forces quickly intervened with reinforcements from the Intelligence branch, the judicial police, and the Bekaa investigation unit, as well as significant numbers from the ISF rapid intervention regiment. They regained control of the situation and restored order inside the prison, with no detainee managing to escape.
When contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the ISF did not respond to requests for comment at this time.
The cells located in courthouses in Lebanon are normally reserved for those in custody, for incarcerations lasting only a few days. But with the crisis in Lebanon, delayed hearings due to strikes, reduced ISF personnel, and slow administrative procedures, these stays in custody have tended to lengthen.
Similar escape attempts have occurred several times in recent years; notably, in July 2025, nine inmates escaped from an ISF detention center in Kfar Joz, in the Nabatieh region, after breaking open a hole in a wall. In August 2022, 31 detainees escaped from the prison at the Beirut courthouse, which is located in an inadequate facility. The previous year, in November 2021, 70 inmates escaped from the detention center attached to the Baabda courthouse after managing to circumvent the location’s security measures.
On Aug. 4, 2020, right after the twin explosions at the port of Beirut, the Adlieh detention center (in the courthouse sector) was also the site of a mass escape attempt. Shaken by the blasts, the area was filled with dense dust, prompting prisoners to break the locks on their cells and rush toward the exit. They were quickly apprehended by law enforcement.
Reporting by our Bekaa correspondent, Sara Abdallah
