BEIRUT: Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji said Tuesday that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will not allow violators to take advantage of security lapses to achieve their goals, a reference to last week’s incident in Ain al-Remmaneh. The clash that broke out between Shiyyah and Ain al-Remmaneh residents led to an inspection by LAF troops stationed in the south Metn area Tuesday morning.
“The army will not go easy on the perpetrators and will stand in their way,” Kahwaji said.
He added he was happy with the security measures taken by the army in the areas affected by last week’s incident.
On Monday, State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza transferred the ten detainees involved in the Ain al-Remmaneh incident to the office of the Prosecutor General of the Court of Appeals in Mount Lebanon.
Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud on Monday defended his ministry’s decision to ban the use of motorcycles in the wake of a spate of security incidents involving the vehicles. As of Wednesday, it will be illegal to use a motorcycle from 6:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Last week’s altercation involved youths from Shayyah coming into Ain al-Remmaneh on motorcycles.
In other news, Sada al-Balad newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Lebanese security forces were assisting Palestinian groups in shutting down all entrances to the northern Beddawi refugee camp in order to control fugitives suspected of using the entries.
According to the daily, the Palestinian groups are establishing a joint Palestinian security force, camp patrols and checkpoints. The security forces were also informed that fundamentalists involved in attacks against Lebanese political figures as well as security forces were present and using “advanced devices” inside the camp.
Palestinian refugee camps cannot be accessed by Lebanese security forces. – The Daily Star