LBN21023

NNA - A task force from the counter theft bureau ambushed last night a wanted man by the name of Ali Mohammad M. during a raid in the town of Britel; however, the criminal opened fire at the police and a shoot-out ensued. The criminal was able to escape. No casualties were reported. http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/59723/Shoot-out-in-Britel-between-sec... http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/216176/

وطنية - صدر عن المديرية العامة لقوى الامن الداخلي ـ شعبة العلاقات العامة البلاغ التالي:

نتيجة للمتابعة والرصد، وفي بلدة بريتال - البقاعية، تمكن مكتب مكافحة جرائم السرقات الدولية في وحدة الشرطة القضائية بتاريخ 21/12/2015 من توقيف أحد المطلوبين الخطرين في مجال سرقة السيارات، ويدعى ع .ا (مواليد عام 1973، لبناني) وهو مطلوب بموجب مذكرة توقيف وخلاصة حكم بجرم سرقة تقضي بحبسه خمس سنوات.
التحقيق جار بإشراف القضاء المختص.
http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/197640/

وطنية - بعلبك - أفادت مندوبة "الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام" وسام درويش عن وفاة المواطنة نور الهدى.م (17 عاما - بريتال) باطلاق النار على نفسها من سلاح حربي. http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/184477/

A 20-year-old university student, who was kidnapped earlier in the week, was on Saturday released in the eastern Bekaa Valley after ransom was paid, the state-run National News Agency reported. Marc al-Hajj Moussa was abducted by armed men at dawn Thursday on a road in the Metn town of Mazraat Yashouh while on his way home in Bikfaya. His car, a Toyota Land Cruiser, was later found in the area of Majdel Tarshish. According to NNA, the ransom amounted to 350,000 dollars.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/186883-kidnapped-university-student-r...

Calm returned to Lebanon's eastern border Monday following fierce fighting between Hezbollah and Nusra Front militant that left nearly two dozen combatants killed, according to security sources. Hezbollah acknowledged the deaths of eight fighters and said it would hold funeral processions later Monday for at least two that were killed in the Bekaa Valley town of Labweh. Security sources said at least 20 Hezbollah fighters were wounded in the clashes that broke out Sunday evening outside the village of Brital. They were taken to hospitals in Baalbek, particularly the Hezbollah-run Dar al-Hikmeh, the sources told The Daily Star.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Oct-06/273047-five-he...

On 20 May 15, one wanted person and other four (4) of the anti-Drug Bureau were injured during fire trade in Brital as anti-drug patrol was prosecuting the wanted person Hassan Ghaleb Ismail.
http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/44416/One-wanted-person-anti-drug-pat...

On 19 May 15, the Lebanese Army Forces (LAF) closed illegitimate roads in Britel, erected checkpoints at the town's entrance, raided houses and chased wanted persons.

http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/44366/Army-closes-Brital-illegitimate...

On 08 May 15, a rocket originated from the eastern mountain range landed between the towns of Al - Taybeh and Britel without causing damage.

http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/43898/Rocket-falls-between-Taybeh-Britel

NNA - The Lebanese Army on Wednesday raided on the third day in a row Tleis residence in Brital, NNA field reporter said on Wednesday.
This step comes at the backdrop of Abbas Tleis's fleeing from Dar Al-Hikma hospital, NNA reporter added.
http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/43306/Army-raids-Tleis-residence-in-B...

The Lebanese Army has been conducting since Monday night patrols in search of the wanted Rahwan who was smuggled from "Dar el Hikma" hospital in Baalbek.

http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/43225/Army-carries-out-patrols-search...

NNA - Lebanese Army soldiers raided Monday evening the town of Britel in Baalbek and arrested 2 suspects by the name of Hussein Tleiss and Mohamad Mazloum on charges of being involved in vehicle thefts, after engaging in open fire exchange, NNA correspondent in Baalbek indicated.
http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/42888/Army-raids-Britel-arrests-suspe...

On 16 Feb 15, the Lebanese Armed Forces confiscated at least 400 kilograms of drugs in the eastern Bekaa region as part of raids against wanted suspects. 70 kgs of processed and 400 kgs of unprocessed cannabis were seized during raids on the Dar al-Wasia area in Baalbek. A quantity of heroin and Captagon pills, equipment used to manufacture drugs, and a stolen Range Rover vehicle were also confiscated in the operation. The LAF also arrested two Lebanese Nationals and four Syrian Nationals as part of its ongoing security plan in the Bekaa. The suspects were arrested in the Brital, al-Safry, and Tall Abyad areas.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/167721-army-seizes-around-400-kgs-of-...

56 wanted individuals have been arrested on Friday by the joint Lebanese security forces during a number of raids in different Baalbek towns and villages, including Brital, Hourtaala, Douros, and Hamoudieh, a Lebanese Army communiqué confirmed on Friday.
The arrestees and their illegal possessions have been handed to the concerned apparatuses for further investigations and appropriate measures, the army statement added.
http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/40528/Army-56-wanted-men-arrested...

The main attacker of a young man who was shot dead last week was finally apprehended, Wednesday evening, a security source told The Daily Star.

Charbel Georges Khalil who gave orders to shoot down 27-year-old Yves Nawfal over a personal dispute was arrested in the Baalbek town of Brital, in east Lebanon by a unit from the Internal Security Force’s Information Branch.

Khalil had been on the run, his whereabouts unknown for more than 10 days since he attacked Nawfal near a pub in the Kesrouan area of Ayoun al-Siman. The security source said Khalil was hiding in a house in Brital, which is notorious for being a zone of unlaw.

On their Twitter account, the ISF said it found Khalil’s Jeep Wrangler in the Kesrouan region of Baqaata-Ashqout.

Nawfal succumbed to his wounds over the weekend. He was celebrating his birthday at a pub in Kfardebian when he became involved in a brief fistfight with another group over an offhand comment made to a woman.

Nawfal’s lead attacker, Khalil who became especially aggravated after he was hit by a loose jab ordered his associates not let Nawfal get to Beirut alive.

Armed with a pistol and an automatic gun, the attackers sprayed the Subaru with bullets, leaving Nawfal heavily wounded from four shots.

Nawfal succumbed to his wounds Saturday morning, while the perpetrators were still at large. A massive social media campaign demanding that the attackers be brought to justice ensued.

In its statement, the ISF said it will continue its investigations “to arrest all those involved in the attack and those who helped them evade security forces.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Jan-14/284137-yves-na...

The Lebanese Army Command's Guidance Directorate on Thursday issued a communique saying that the army intelligence raided at 15:30 in Brital the house of wanted Ali Chehab Ismail known as Ali Sariini who tried in vain to escape the army that shot him and caused him accordingly a slight injury.
Ismail was arrested and taken by army to hospital for treatment and investigations.

http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/36681/Army-Wanted-individual-inju...

Army units arrested Saturday 2 suspects and raided an arms' storage place in the town of Britel, containing military rifles, machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition, and also raided a drugs warehouse in Dar Wasi'a, an Army Guidance Directorate communiqué indicated.

Army units are also tracking down the shooters involved in the Btedi'i incident.

This came within the framework of the Army's pursuit of wanted suspects and its fight against organized crimes of all kinds, whereby it executed extensive raids in the region of Baalbek and its surroundings, including the towns of Britel, Dar Wasi'a, Sharawna, Kanisa and Iaat, the Army communique added.

http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/36414/Army-arrests-people-raids-w...

The Internal Security Forces detained a notorious thief wanted for theft and kidnapping in the Bekaa Valley, according to a statement from the ISF Thursday.
“There has been a recent increase in car theft and kidnapping by force of arms in the Bekaa province, whereby militants kidnap the drivers, harm them physically, only to steal their money and prized objects before dumping them in desolate areas,” the statement said.
In an attempt to crack down on the perpetrators, the ISF detained a suspect, identified by his initials D.A, in the village of Brital.
The suspect, 29, attempted to flee a checkpoint in Brital before being detained by area police. According to the statement, the suspect was driving a stolen Mercedes.
In the car, policemen found a hand grenade and about half a gram of cocaine.
After interrogation, the perpetrator admitted to participating in 18 car thefts and kidnappings in the Bekaa Valley. The statement also said that 12 warrants had been previously issued against the same suspect for the crimes of looting, theft, the formation of a theft gang, firing an unlicensed weapon and possession of drugs.
The ISF is currently carrying out investigations in an attempt to clamp down on other suspects who also participated in looting in the Bekaa.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Oct-30/275919-isf-cra...

In the municipality of Brital curfew restrictions have been imposed on Syrian refugees, from 7 pm to 8 am since the 4th of August. Lebanese municipalities have increasingly imposed curfews on Syrian refugees. The curfews restrict refugees’ movements and contribute to a climate of discriminatory and retaliatory practices against them. Human Rights Watch has identified at least 45 municipalities across the country that have imposed such curfews. Some of the curfews were among numerous retaliatory measures directed at Syrians following the August 2014 fighting in Arsal, Lebanon between the Lebanese army and extremist groups operating out of Syria and the execution of at least three Lebanese soldiers abducted by the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra. Such curfews violate international human rights law and appear to be illegal under Lebanese law. Municipal police enforce many of the curfews but Human Rights Watch also received information about the creation of local vigilante groups to enforce curfews, raising concerns about abuses. “The authorities have presented no evidence that curfews for Syrian refugees are necessary for public order or security in Lebanon,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director. “These curfews are just contributing to an increasingly hostile environment for Syrian refugees in the country.” The Lebanese government should instruct municipalities to stop imposing the curfews and to protect Syrians in Lebanon from retaliatory measures, Human Rights Watch said. The national government should not cede its responsibilities concerning the refugees to municipalities that are not well-equipped or responsible for meeting the challenges of the increasing number of refugees in the country. Lebanon now hosts close to 1.2 million registered or registering Syrian refugees. Despite the growing numbers, the national government has not adopted a national policy for housing or otherwise managing the influx of refugees. Nor has it provided adequate guidance to municipalities on how to manage the influx of refugees in their communities or to oversee their policies to ensure compliance with Lebanon’s international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said. While some municipalities have had curfews for well over a year, a number of others imposed similar curfews following the fighting in Arsal. The curfews are typically announced with a large banner erected in a main street, outlining the times during which Syrians, foreigners, or foreign workers are not allowed to be outside or gather in large groups. The banners, which address ‘foreigners’ and ‘foreign workers’, are widely understood to refer to Syrians. On August 18, Human Rights Watch visited two villages in the Akkar region of northern Lebanon that imposed curfews after the fighting in Arsal broke out. The director of the Ministry of Social Affairs health clinic in the Christian village of Rahbe, Akkar, told Human Rights Watch that on August 8 the local municipality imposed an 8 p.m. curfew. While the head of the Rahbe Municipality told Human Rights Watch that the curfew was targeted at motorbikes, which are popular with Syrians, and not at Syrians generally, Rahbe residents told Human Rights Watch that they understood that the curfew applied to Syrians more broadly. In neighboring Tikrit, a predominately Sunni town, a Syrian resident and a local Lebanese resident both said that a curfew was imposed on about August 8. The deputy director of the Tikrit municipality denied that there was a blanket curfew and said it specifically targeted those on motorbikes. A Syrian refugee who lives in Zalka, in the Metn district, said that in late August municipal police prevented him from getting medicine for his sick child from a pharmacy next to his house at 8:45 p.m.: When I got down to the street, I was immediately stopped by the municipal police. They said, ‘You are Syrian, you can’t go out after 8pm. There is a curfew in place, no Syrians can go out after 8pm.’ I told them, ‘Yes but I am just going to get medicine for my child.’ They said, ‘No, you need to go home.’ I went home and didn’t buy the medicine for my child. A humanitarian worker who monitors refugee protection for an international organization operating in the Bekaa told Human Rights Watch that starting the first week of August the Hermel municipality imposed a curfew for Syrian refugees from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day. In the Bsharri district, in Lebanon’s northeast, the municipality imposed a curfew in August limiting the movement of Syrian refugees on motorcycles after 7 p.m., according to the aid worker. There have been differing reports about how municipal curfews have been enforced, although they appear to be typically enforced by local municipal police. Human Rights Watch interviewed nine municipal officials about their curfews, six of whom said they were enforced by municipal police or guards. In some cases however, as in Aley, it has been reported by the media that local vigilante groups, some of them armed, have been assembled to patrol the streets at night looking for Syrians out after the curfew. Residents of the Akkar district of Tikrit said a vigilante group had been assembled with the support of the municipal government to enforce the curfew and manage security in the town. Human Rights Watch spoke to a Syrian who accompanied his friend to the hospital after he was reportedly attacked by several Lebanese men in the town of Rawda, at approximately 10 p.m. on September 23. He told Human Rights Watch his friend was stopped by a group of men who told him he could not go out at night because he was a Syrian. He told Human Rights Watch that when his friend told them he was just going to the store to purchase a few things they stabbed him three times. Human Rights Watch could not speak with the victim directly because of the extent of his injuries. The Lebanese government should not ignore the development of militias that, even with the tacit support of local authorities, are outside any formal structure that would ensure they are acting in accordance with domestic and human rights law, Human Rights Watch said. Such vigilante groups should be disbanded and any support from local municipalities or other authorities to such groups should cease. “The last thing Lebanon needs is vigilante groups with arms walking the streets,” Houry said. “Real security comes at the hand of national institutions that ensure that the law is applied fairly to everyone, locals and Syrians alike.” Two Syrians who act as intermediaries between refugees and humanitarian organizations in Zgharta and Meryata described how curfews are enforced. They said that the police issue warnings to people who violate the curfews and that exceptions were made for people with advance permission who need to be out at night for work or emergencies. Five municipal officials also told Human Rights Watch that the municipality issues permits to workers who need to be out during the curfew for work. Some officials said curfew violators would be given a warning, or in other cases would be taken to the municipality for questioning. Rawad Shemsedeen, a council member for the municipality of Benih in Aley, that those who break the curfew there are given an initial warning, and are punished if they repeatedly break it; although he did not indicate what this punishment would entail. A report by NBC news said that Syrians who break curfew in the municipality of Ramhallah, in the Baabda district, are given warnings for the first two violations, but are detained for a few hours on the third or fourth. While local officials often defend restrictions on the freedom of movement for Syrian refugees as necessary security measures, their explanations often rely on stereotypes and contribute to a discriminatory climate, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch asked seven officials from different municipalities to provide specific examples or data that would reflect that security incidents in the town went down after the curfews were imposed. None of them did, even though four of them insisted that security had improved after a curfew was imposed. Four municipal officials Human Rights Watch interviewed said that the curfews were carried out without any coordination with or guidance from the national government. One wrongly claimed, “This [the curfew] has nothing to do with the government. It is within the power of the municipality to take security measures to protect its residents.” The curfews are also not being carried out under any law, as required by Lebanon’s international human rights obligations, and their implementation by municipalities appears to contravene Lebanese domestic law. In April 2013, Marwan Charbel, who was then the interior minister, was reported by al-Sharq al-Awsat as saying there was no legal basis for the curfews, and that local municipalities did not have the right to infringe on the authority of the state-wide security forces – whatever the conditions – including imposing local curfews. The Legal Agenda, a Beirut-based non-governmental non-profit organization, has also publicly denounced the curfews, calling them a form of collective punishment and a violation of human rights. The Norwegian Refugee Council also issued a fact sheet for lawyers about the curfews in July, finding that they had no basis in Lebanese law. Anyone lawfully present in a country has the right to freedom of movement within that country. This principle is enshrined in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Lebanon has ratified.While countries may under certain circumstances restrict movement, such limits must be enacted in law and must be necessary “to protect national security, public order, public health, or morals, or the rights and freedoms of others.” Furthermore the restriction of movement must be proportionate, including in judging the areas it applies to, the time, the number of people affected, and the impact it has on their lives, in comparison with the aim achieved by the law. Lebanon has no such law, Human Rights Watch said. Restrictions on rights cannot be imposed on a discriminatory basis, including by nationality. This is a fundamental principle of human rights law that applies even during emergencies. The prohibition on discrimination means any difference in treatment on the grounds of nationality must be very strictly justified. It is extremely rare that singling out one nationality for detrimental treatment would be justifiable. While donor states should continue to generously support Lebanese government efforts to meet the needs of the Syrian refugee and local populations, they should examine whether any municipalities receiving their assistance are imposing unlawful and discriminatory restrictions on Syrian refugees and, if so, consider ending that assistance, Human Rights Watch said. “The Lebanese government needs to be sending municipalities and Lebanese citizens the message that vigilante justice is no justice,” Houry said. “Municipalities should cease imposing these curfews, which they have no authority to require, and end practices that feed into a climate of discrimination against and stereotyping of Syrians in Lebanon.” http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/03/lebanon-least-45-local-curfews-impose...

Severe clashes took place along the Eastern Mountain Series on Sunday afternoon, in wake of an attack by a group of armed militants on a Hezbollah checkpoint in the outskirts of Britel, which resulted in several casualties among the armed militants.
Meanwhile, hightened clashes were also registered in the outskirts of Yuneen along the Eastern Mountain Series as well, with the sound of rocket bomb explosions heard in villages falling east of Baalbek.
http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/34325/Several-armed-militant-casu...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29498972

A Lebanese Army unit on Tuesday raided Brital village at the backdrop of the abduction of 3 Syrian nationals along Hallanieh road on Monday evening.

Two of the three abducted men were later released, but the captors demanded a 500 thousand dollars ransom to release the third kidnapped Syrian.
http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/30284/Army-raids-Brital-region-in...

Two missiles sourcing from Anti-Lebanon region hit the outskirts of Brital town today without causing any damage, National News Agency correspondent reported on Friday.

The first rocket hit west the international highway with shrapnels reaching nearby houses.

The second one fell in a deserted land east the highway.

http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/29764/Two-missiles-fall-in-Brital...

NNA - Two rocket bombs launched from the Eastern Mountain Series landed near a school within the vicinity of Britel at 7:50 p.m. on Saturday, without any casualties being reported, a Lebanese Army communiqué indicated.

As a result, the Army ran patrols along the targeted area, while its military experts inspected the explosions site, the communique added.

Source: http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/29062/Army-Two-rocket-bombs-fall-...