Efforts to fight a massive fire that engulfed swathes of forest area in the Baabda region Monday were called into question by locals who complained the response was slow and inefficient.
“We
saw a small fire far away so we called the fire department and the
municipality, but no one came to put it out,” said Elie Meshab, a
resident of the area. “If they had come, it wouldn’t have grown as big
as it did.”
Many residents said that Monday’s fire was the biggest
they’ve seen in years. Plumes of thick, dark smoke and bright orange
flames filled the air in the morning, burning through large sections of
the thick, green forest of Betshai
and leaving behind only piles of grey and black ash. Many residents
temporarily left their homes to stay with relatives or in hotels, as
firefighters and the Army’s engineering unit struggled to fight back the
flames.
Showing posts with label beirut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beirut. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Locals ponder possible Syria strike
BEIRUT, Lebanon – A possible U.S.-led air strike on Syria has caused debates in the Middle East where locals are likely to feel the backlash firsthand.
“I’m not with the U.S. strike because it will not be directed at the Syrian regime but at at unarmed people,” said Barae Kayali, a 25 year-old Syrian marketing supervisor working in Saudi Arabia.
Syria is surrounded by Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Israel to the south and Lebanon to the west. The country has grabbed international headlines since a peaceful uprising turned into a violent internal conflict lasting 30 months and taking the lives of over 100,000 Syrians.
With the exception of Israel, fighters for and against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have flowed across Syria’s borders to exacerbate a conflict that is becoming increasingly intricate and complex.
Both Assad’s army and the armed opposition have been accused of atrocious acts of violence. On August 21, chemical weapons were released on the Syrian town of Ghouta near Damascus, the capital. Although this was not the first time chemical weapons were used in the war, it was the largest and demanded the attention of the international community.
Despite denial from Assad and his allies that the Syrian regime was behind the attack, western intelligence has released reports accusing Assad. Obama said in the past that if Syria were to use chemical weapons it would mean a “red line” has been crossed and the United States would be forced to respond militarily.
Read Full Story: http://www.theatlanticpost.com/security/locals-ponder-possible-syria-strike-3258.html
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Lebanon on edge with threat of more car bombs
By Justin Salhani
BEIRUT/ABRA, Lebanon – A week of deadly car bombs has pushed security agencies in Lebanon to increase security measures as the country continues to suffer the effects of the war in neighboring Syria.
Various buildings around the country, including political offices and mosques, have blocked off parking in response to the bombs thought to be repercussions to areas deeply involved with the war in Syria.
Lebanon is a Mediterranean country slightly smaller than Connecticut with some of the most tumultuous borders in the Middle East. To the south lies Israel, a country with which Lebanon has a history of conflict and no diplomatic relations, and to the north and east is Syria, embroiled in a nearly two and a half-year civil war that has Lebanese deeply divided between support and opposition of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
On August 16, a car bomb exploded killing more than 20 people in Beirut’s southern suburb, where Assad enjoys swathes of support. Eight days later, two more blasts followed in the northern city of Tripoli, an area that holds great ire for Assad’s regime, killing dozens and injured hundreds. The blast in Beirut’s suburbs was in an area with heavy traffic while Tripoli’s twin explosions targeted crowded mosques.
Read full story here: theatlanticpost.com/politics/lebanon-on-edge-with-threat-of-more-car-bombs-3144.html
Monday, August 26, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
New actors in Lebanon’s north threaten Tripoli’s stability
I wrote a blogpost about this a few months back. Here is the final story of my investigative report into what was fueling the fighting between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen. The intro to the story is the usual caveats but the interesting information is further down. I've put a few graphs here.
In the past, prominent Tripoli politicians have provided funds to Bab al-Tabbaneh street leaders in exchange for popular support and votes, multiple sources said.
Mouin Merhabi is a representative in parliament of the Future Movement, an anti-Assad party led by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, the son of the Rafik al-Hariri. He said, “More than 90 percent of people in [Bab al-] Tabbaneh are poor. They used to buy the bullets themselves and sometimes they would ask people from the city to [fund their fighting].”
Portraits of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and Mohammad Kabbara, a Tripoli parliamentarian from the Future Movement, are commonly found plastered on Bab al-Tabbaneh’s bullet-ridden walls.
But Tripoli’s politicians are finding it harder to control the conflict. Sitting behind his desk in his Beirut office, an adviser to one of Tripoli’s most prominent politicians said, “The politicians are no longer in control [of the men on the street].” The adviser, who is not affiliated with the Future Movement, asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.
Future Movement parliamentarian Ahmad Fatfat, said, “Politicians cut all attempts to try and control [Bab al-Tabbaneh].” Now, “[street leaders] found a way to keep [their funding] alive.”
According to the Tripoli-based political adviser, “Gangsters [in Bab al-Tabbaneh] have direct access to primary funding. They don’t go to politicians anymore.” In the latest round of fighting, when Mohammad Kabbara asked for a meeting to organize a ceasefire he was ignored by fighters once loyal to him, said the adviser of the Tripoli politician.
The adviser said that Gulf state intelligence agencies are funding street leaders, or “gangsters” as he labeled them, in Bab al-Tabbaneh. “High-level experts on the other side go to Damascus or Tehran,” he said.
When fighting erupted in Tripoli in June, the Lebanese English online publication Naharnet reported that Saad al-Masri, a prominent street leader in Bab al-Tabbaneh and one-time ally of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, had traveled to Turkey to obtain financial support. Fighters on the street however said al-Masri was “on vacation.”
“If you are a Salafist or Islamist, you go to Saudi Arabia or Qatar,” said the adviser to the Tripoli politician. “Gangsters go to Turkey, but not to meet with the Turks,” he added. Fadda, the ADP spokesperson, also accused the Bab al-Tabbaneh fighters of receiving funding from Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The adviser said that leaders like Masri broke from their political allies because of constraints placed upon them regarding buying arms and fighting with Jabal Mohsen. Today, they have no constraints.
Requests for an interview with Saad al-Masri went unanswered.
Read full story: http://theatlanticpost.com/security/new-actors-in-lebanons-north-threaten-tripolis-stability-2866.html
In the past, prominent Tripoli politicians have provided funds to Bab al-Tabbaneh street leaders in exchange for popular support and votes, multiple sources said.
Mouin Merhabi is a representative in parliament of the Future Movement, an anti-Assad party led by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, the son of the Rafik al-Hariri. He said, “More than 90 percent of people in [Bab al-] Tabbaneh are poor. They used to buy the bullets themselves and sometimes they would ask people from the city to [fund their fighting].”
Portraits of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and Mohammad Kabbara, a Tripoli parliamentarian from the Future Movement, are commonly found plastered on Bab al-Tabbaneh’s bullet-ridden walls.
But Tripoli’s politicians are finding it harder to control the conflict. Sitting behind his desk in his Beirut office, an adviser to one of Tripoli’s most prominent politicians said, “The politicians are no longer in control [of the men on the street].” The adviser, who is not affiliated with the Future Movement, asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.
Future Movement parliamentarian Ahmad Fatfat, said, “Politicians cut all attempts to try and control [Bab al-Tabbaneh].” Now, “[street leaders] found a way to keep [their funding] alive.”
According to the Tripoli-based political adviser, “Gangsters [in Bab al-Tabbaneh] have direct access to primary funding. They don’t go to politicians anymore.” In the latest round of fighting, when Mohammad Kabbara asked for a meeting to organize a ceasefire he was ignored by fighters once loyal to him, said the adviser of the Tripoli politician.
The adviser said that Gulf state intelligence agencies are funding street leaders, or “gangsters” as he labeled them, in Bab al-Tabbaneh. “High-level experts on the other side go to Damascus or Tehran,” he said.
When fighting erupted in Tripoli in June, the Lebanese English online publication Naharnet reported that Saad al-Masri, a prominent street leader in Bab al-Tabbaneh and one-time ally of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, had traveled to Turkey to obtain financial support. Fighters on the street however said al-Masri was “on vacation.”
“If you are a Salafist or Islamist, you go to Saudi Arabia or Qatar,” said the adviser to the Tripoli politician. “Gangsters go to Turkey, but not to meet with the Turks,” he added. Fadda, the ADP spokesperson, also accused the Bab al-Tabbaneh fighters of receiving funding from Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The adviser said that leaders like Masri broke from their political allies because of constraints placed upon them regarding buying arms and fighting with Jabal Mohsen. Today, they have no constraints.
Requests for an interview with Saad al-Masri went unanswered.
Read full story: http://theatlanticpost.com/security/new-actors-in-lebanons-north-threaten-tripolis-stability-2866.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)