Conflict Incident Report

The Internal Security Forces Friday arrested a man suspected of sheep-rustling and robbing several houses across Lebanon’s northeastern region of Baalbeck-Hermel.

The suspect, identified as Lebanese national Aa.Aa., born in 1992, was arrested on suspicion of having carried out the robberies, and later reportedly confessed to committing them along with several accomplices.

The ISF released a list of the properties that had been targeted by the thieves, including Majd Hamadeh’s house in Showaghir on Dec. 12, Ali Hajj Hasan and Ali Qassim Ayoub’s homes on Dec. 15, and two other houses in the area owned by people from the Al-Masmar and Al-Iskandar families.

The suspect also reportedly confessed to stealing from the Hermel houses of Ziad Mohammad Allam and Mohammad Nayef Nasraldin on Jan. 4.

The suspect also reportedly stole around 25 motorbikes belonging to Syrian refugees living in the Hermel area, which were subsequently sold.

Aa. also reportedly rustled a 25-strong herd of sheep that belonged to Bedouins in the Tamnin al-Tahta area of Baalbeck, and around 20 beehives from another Baalbeck locality.

According to the ISF statement, the suspect admitted to robbing Hamadeh’s house with the help of the doorman, subsequently storing the loot in a house rented by another accomplice.

The ISF arrested the doorman, identified as Syrian national K.Aa., on Jan. 17. On the same day, ISF personnel also raided the apartment in which the stolen goods had been stored, finding enough items to “load a medium sized pickup truck.”

Work is ongoing to arrest other people involved in these robberies, the ISF said.