A Lebanese Army outpost in the Charawneh neighborhood of Baalbeck was targeted by an RPG rocket on Saturday, while other Army positions came under heavy gunfire from armed men, the Lebanese Army said in a statement. According to available information, the fugitive A.A., who was wanted on several arrest warrants, was killed during the operation.
No casualties were reported among the soldiers, who returned fire. The attackers are currently being pursued for arrest.
Since early morning, intense clashes have erupted between the Lebanese Army and wanted individuals in Charawneh, with troops also conducting raids in search of suspects. Heavy gunfire and rocket fire were heard across the area.
Security forces continue their efforts to combat smuggling and drug trafficking in the Baalbeck-Hermel region, no longer constrained by the “red lines” that had previously hindered their operations.
According to An-Nahar daily, Army units and the Directorate of Intelligence are carrying out field operations aimed at closing illegal crossings used for smuggling in the border area of Machari’ al-Qaa, near Syria, including the Naamat crossing, one of the most active smuggling routes between the two countries.
In recent years, the Army has stepped up targeted operations against criminal networks and fugitive hideouts, conducting decisive security raids that have dismantled several gangs, resulting in numerous suspects being killed, arrested or forced to flee.
These preemptive operations, led by the Directorate of Intelligence in the Beqaa over the past three years, have cost the lives of ten of its members but have helped reassert state authority over a region long considered beyond its control.
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