The Lebanese army cordoned off parts of the eastern Bekaa Valley on Tuesday and raided homes of suspected drug lords as it hunted down those behind the killing of four soldiers.
The soldiers were killed when their vehicle was raked with bullets and blasted with a grenade on Monday in an apparent drugs-related ambush in the Bekaa, a lawless region ruled by clans and long known as a fertile drug-producing area.
Hundreds of troops fanned out between the Bekaa and the Hermel region, further north, setting up checkpoints and raiding the homes of drug barons who for years have operated with near total impunity in the area.
An army spokesman said that the raids would continue until those behind the attack were arrested.
“We will raid every region and every location where we have information on suspects,” he said. “We have raided a number of homes and detained several suspects wanted in previous cases but they don’t include those behind Monday’s attack.”
Several hundred kilograms of poppy seeds used to grow hashish were seized at the home of a suspected drug lord on the run.
The Lebanese army cordoned off al-Sharawni, a neighborhood in the main Bekaa town of Baalbek, and surrounded the home of Hassan Ali Jaafar, a leading suspect in Monday’s ambush.
Jaafar is the brother of Ali Abbas Jaafar, a drug baron who was killed by the army last month after refusing to stop at a checkpoint. He was wanted on a variety of charges, including drug trafficking and attempted murder of soldiers and civilians.
Following his killing, Jaafar’s relatives opened fire at an army vehicle, wounding three soldiers, and Monday’s ambush — which also left a soldier wounded — was widely believed to be a revenge attack.
The Jaafar clan issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the killing of the soldiers but stressed that the army could not raid the homes of “decent people.”
The clan also said that it would not harbor any suspects involved in the ambush.
Many residents of the area had fled their homes after the ambush fearing an escalation between the army and the Jaafar clan, but the situation remained relatively calm on Tuesday.
Lebanese officials, including President Michel Sleiman and Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, vowed the attack against the soldiers, who were buried on Tuesday, would not go unpunished.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also condemned the killings in a telephone call to Sleiman and said he backed the Lebanese army in its bid to maintain stability.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel