Bekaa Fugitives Flee Area ahead of Implementation of Security Plan
Outlaws in the eastern Bekaa Valley have reportedly fled the area to evade a much-anticipated security plan expected to be implemented soon, media reports said on Sunday.
Sources said in comments published in the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper that dangerous fugitives left their homes in the eastern Bekaa and headed to the Syrian town of Qusayr and other neighboring towns.
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced recently the Central Security Council discussed the measures that will be implemented in the Bekaa to maintain stability.
The plan seeks to clamp down on criminals in the Bekaa where certain areas, such as the town of Brital, are known to be a safe haven for car-theft gangs and drug dealers, as well as networks that kidnap people in return for ransom.
The army had launched a crackdown on assailants in Beirut's southern suburbs and several other areas in an attempt to halt security chaos across the country.
Security sources told An Nahar newspaper that the security plan is not linked to any of the security measures that the army has taken along Lebanon's border with Syria.
The sources added that the army is exerting efforts to strike with an iron fist in the Bekaa to reduce the security violations.
Speaker Nabih Berri has warned recently offenders in the Bekaa Valley that they will eventually have no choice but to hand themselves over to security forces, flee the country or face death ahead of the implementation of a security plan in the area.
“The Bekaa will not remain a safe haven for fugitives,” Berri was quoted as saying.
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