Conflict Incident Report

Lebanon witnessed yet another instance of femicide, after a man reportedly killed his wife in the early hours of the morning in Beirut’s Ras al-Nabeh.

Fadi Ghazi Askar, born in 1967, shot and killed his wife, Nada Bahlawan, born in 1975, at dawn, a security source told The Daily Star.

“At 4 a.m., [Askar] went to [Bahlawan’s] house, and as she fled her home, he shot her. They took her to [the American University Hospital] and she was announced dead there,” the source said.

Security forces have not yet managed to apprehend Askar, but are tracking his movements via his mobile device, the source said. ISF released a statement later Monday asking for anyone with information on Askar's whereabouts to contact them via phone on 01/633808, saying that those who come forward would remain anonymous.

Askar and his wife had reportedly experienced marital problems and were undergoing a divorce.

At the time of the shooting, Askar had donned a face-covering, but the source noted that “it’s known who he is because eyewitnesses and surveillance videos identified him.”

A video taken at the scene showed a person whose head is covered in black attempting to flee. Footage captured by a surveillance camera showed the shooter trying to make a getaway in the rented van he had driven to the crime scene.

Persons close to the victim told local media outlet MTV that long-standing problems had existed between husband and wife.

The ISF has opened investigations into the killing.