Lebanon’s Living Conditions Threaten Security, Put Pressure On Authorities

 Two gas station employees sit next to a gas pump in Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Two gas station employees sit next to a gas pump in Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
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Lebanon’s Living Conditions Threaten Security, Put Pressure On Authorities

 Two gas station employees sit next to a gas pump in Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Two gas station employees sit next to a gas pump in Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Fear mounts in Lebanon over a security breakdown in light of the increasing difficulty to obtain basic materials.

On Sunday, a young man was killed in Akkar during a dispute over the filling of gasoline. The incident prompted a member of the Syndicate of Gas Station Owners, George Bracs, to demand the authorities to provide protection to the owners of stations and their employees during their working hours.

Security sources said that it was difficult for security institutions to prevent accidents and problems arising from obtaining foodstuffs, fuel, or medicine in light of the deteriorating economic conditions. Security bodies are unable to put patrols in front of every store, pharmacy, gas station and hospital, they noted.

Lebanon’s living crisis has imposed a new security scene, as security personnel were forced to be present inside supermarkets to organize sales after a series of disputes over subsidized materials. As with foodstuffs, pharmacies saw an increasing wave of thefts, forcing owners to call for state’s protection, while some hospital workers were exposed to repeated accidents and assaults over paying a bill or finding a bed for a patient.

Member of the Parliamentary Public Health and Social Affairs Committee, MP Bilal Abdullah, said that the recent developments were the natural result of the state’s inability to deal with crises.

“The security breakdown cannot be addressed but by accelerating the formation of a government that quickly sets up a plan to rationalize support and a political and social reform project based on clear priorities,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The rate of murder and theft crimes has increased significantly in Lebanon as a result of the bad economic situation, according to a report published by Information International - an independent research and statistics company.

The report showed an increase in murders during January and February by 45.5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to data from the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces. The percentage of robbery crimes increased in the same period by 144%.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.