Conflict Incident Report

Two people arrested over their alleged involvement in an incident that turned Zahle’s Berdawni River red were released Monday, a security source told The Daily Star. The two men were workers clearing a recently closed chocolate factory in Zahle and were removing bags of a powdered food dye used to color sweets. It is believed that some of the coloring entered the river when the workers went to wash the powder from the back of the truck, causing the discoloration, the source told The Daily Star.

“They [the workers] headed to Hzarta [town] to clean the truck and the place where they did so happened to be close to the outlet to the Berdawni River, causing it to turn red,” the source said. “The workers were arrested and released within 24 hours because they didn’t know what the bags contained and the impact they would have.”