Lebanon’s Crisis Imposes New Tasks on Security Forces

Shoppers walk past an empty shelf at a supermarket in Beirut. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past an empty shelf at a supermarket in Beirut. (Reuters)
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Lebanon’s Crisis Imposes New Tasks on Security Forces

Shoppers walk past an empty shelf at a supermarket in Beirut. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past an empty shelf at a supermarket in Beirut. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s severe economic crisis has imposed an unusual security reality, as security officers are now seen organizing the purchase of foodstuffs, and others standing at the doors of supermarkets where many disputes have erupted during the past weeks over the priority to buy subsidized products.

A video widely circulated on social media on Thursday showed a man screaming in a supermarket in the coastal city of Amshit in Mount Lebanon, in protest against allowing Syrians to receive subsidized food products. The man shouted that those, who do not have the Lebanese nationality, should be prevented from entering the supermarket. His remarks led to a dispute between Lebanese and Syrian refugees in the town.

Another video leaked last week showed security officers in a food store, asking people to present their ID cards in order to buy subsidized rice.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, MP Wehbi Qatisha said that the scene was “certainly a negative indicator of the current situation in Lebanon, due to poor management of crises, especially economic ones.”

“Instead of confronting major security risks, security officers are now dealing with disputes among citizens over oil or milk,” he said.

Other missions were granted to the security bodies in light of the deteriorating economic and social crisis.

The Directorate General of State Security was tasked with supervising the distribution of diesel fuel to stations in order to prevent monopoly or smuggling, while the Lebanese army was assigned the task of distributing financial aid, which the government granted to poor families, in addition to dispensing compensation to those affected by the Beirut port explosion.

According to a security source, such intervention is needed because the army and security bodies have the responsibility to safeguard civil peace and stability.



Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
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Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others, including Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers, Lebanon’s state news agency and the army said.

The Lebanese army said in a communique that three soldiers and four Malaysian peacekeepers were injured.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

The convoy of peacekeepers happened to be driving nearby when the airstrike occurred, according to the report.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

The attack took place near Araya, where several similar drone strikes have taken place in the past week.