Conflict Incident Report

In what appears an unprecedented move, Hezbollah units reportedly raided dug warehouses in Beirut's southern suburbs without the assistance of state security forces, sources told The Daily Star.

Late Friday evening, Hezbollah units stormed a number of storage units reportedly housing drugs in the Burj al-Barajneh neighborhood south of Beirut.
The area is considered to be under Hezbollah's control and the party has often been criticized for allegedly providing cover to drug traffickers in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut.

Images shared with The Daily Star depicted scores of men clad in black with their faces hidden and Hezbollah's emblems emblazon on their shoulders, bearing heavy assault weapons moving through the streets.

The raid was reportedly carried out by Hezbollah's Abbas brigade.

“This has major repercussions. Hezbollah did this all on its own without any backing from the government,” the source, who is considered credible by The Daily Star, said. “A lot of people have been bothered by these things and were criticized because of it. This is very substantial as it is Hezbollah saying that these types of activities will not be tolerated in its areas anymore.”

Hezbollah had been previously criticized following allegations that it was providing political cover, shielding known drug traffickers from the state's attempts to arrest them.

“This raises a lot of questions,” the source added. “Are they sending a political message? Are they telling their constituents that they are no longer shielding known drug traffickers? It remains a mystery. The way it usually happens is that a single Hezbollah member would accompany an Internal Security Forces unit when they are conducting their raid. The fact that they were completely alone is very telling.”

The move comes just weeks after a number of raids were carried out in Beirut's southern suburb by government forces. An area long considered off limits to state affiliated units.

Military sources Tuesday confirmed that a security plan for south Beirut and the Bekaa Valley had been “subtly” reactivated leading to dozens of arrests and raids in recent days.

“It is true that we are carrying out a campaign. We have the fugitive’s names and where they might be present. We are raiding their whereabouts,” the senior source told The Daily Star.

In 2015, a security plan for the southern suburb and the Bekaa Valley went into effect with Army checkpoints being placed to monitor the situation while trying to limit the movement of outlaws and criminals. However, it quickly lapsed due to lack of political will during the 29-month presidential vacuum.

Security sources told The Daily Star that "the Internal Security Forces don't release information like this, but there is always coordination between them, Hezbollah and the authority."