Calm has returned to the Laboue region in western Bekaa, as the Army reopened the international road linking Baalbek and Homs, after a morning of protests and clashes with soldiers.
On Sunday morning, a dozen young people from the town went down to the streets, cutting off the road and throwing stones at the soldiers who were trying to reopen the road. They were protesting against the death that happened the previous day of N. R., a young man who tried to ram through an Army roadblock in the al-Ain region, refusing to stop.
The soldiers first fired in the air to force him to stop, but he continued on his way. The soldiers then pursued him, firing at the vehicle. N. R. was wounded and taken to a local hospital, where he soon succumbed to his injuries. He was accompanied by three people who were arrested.
In a statement, the Army command called for “restraint,” saying it had “opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of this incident.”
