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Disturbances in the Heart of Beirut: Displaced People Seize Properties and Security Forces Respond
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The Interior Minister's statement regarding the ban on weapons in displaced persons' centers suggests serious security concerns that could complicate the crisis and fuel tensions in the Lebanese socia
With the influx of large numbers of displaced people over the past weeks, fleeing from fierce Israeli shelling, many hosting centers established by official institutions and civil organizations in Lebanon have become overcrowded.
While limited groups have temporarily settled in some empty facilities, especially in the capital Beirut, after obtaining the consent of their owners, some displaced people have stormed abandoned facilities without the permission of their owners, as was evident in the Hamra area on Monday.
Security elements began to evacuate them, but a group of them rebelled, leading to skirmishes and clashes. Some young men shouted at security personnel, while others punched gendarmerie elements, and others set fire to rubber tires in the middle of the road.
In this context, the Minister of Interior in the caretaker government, Bassam Mawlawi, affirmed that "the state will not tolerate any encroachment on public and private property." During a press interview, he added that the authorities are seeking to relocate the displaced from the streets to hosting centers and are working to remove violations on private and public properties.
He also stressed the need to take urgent measures to ensure the security of the displaced and address any possibility of security developments. He pointed out that the security agencies are working on "preventing the possession of weapons in displaced persons' centers and their host communities," according to his statement.
Since the outbreak of clashes between Hezbollah and Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the number of displaced people from the southern suburbs of Beirut in addition to the south has reached 1.2 million Lebanese, most of whom have been displaced during the past few weeks.
Some of them have spread out on roads and public squares in the Lebanese capital, after hosting centers became overcrowded in a country already suffering from an unprecedented economic crisis since 2019.
Levant - Agencies
