BEIRUT: The Army has removed checkpoints it set up in Arsal in the wake of the killing of a Lebanese policeman more than a week ago, mayor of the northeastern town Ali Hujeiri said.
In remarks published Sunday by Saudi newspaper Okaz, the mayor also warned of a plot to target residents of the border town, two days after two Arsalis were kidnapped as they drove through a nearby rival town which was home to the slain policeman.
“All the checkpoints were removed from the town and everybody is back to being rational,” Hujeiri said.
The statement came after the Army last week boosted its security measures in the town, and two days after gunmen kidnapped two Arsal residents as they passed through the nearby village of Bazzalieh.
Hujeiri said the residents of Arsal were victims of the Nusra Front's killing of policeman Ali Bazzal.
He insisted that Arsal supports the state and Army and does not have any links to terrorism, but feared that certain groups are planning to destroy Arsal and kill its residents.
The tensions between Arsal and Bazzalieh have significantly increased since Bazzal's killing. At least 25 other soldiers and policemen are still being held hostage by Nusra and ISIS on the outskirts of Arsal.
On Friday, residents of Bazzalieh reportedly abducted two men from Arsal and later freed one of them.
Residents of Bazzalieh set up checkpoints at the entrances of the town, checking IDs of passing motorists, and stirring fears among Arsalis that they might be attacked or kidnapped in retaliation of Bazzal's murder.
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