BAALBEK, Lebanon: Members of a joint security force raided more villages in northeast Lebanon Monday, in day five of a widespread crackdown on suspected thieves, druglords and other criminals, arresting at least three people.
A security source told The Daily Star that the force was also searching for members of the Jaafar clan behind the killing of a Christian couple in November.
The force entered the village of Dar al-Wasaa, west of Baalbek, a security source said, adding that other raids took place in neighboring town previously targeted.
The source said the Jaafar clan is widely established in the village, and the security forces are committed to arresting the murders of Nadimeh and Sobhi Fakhri in the village of Btedaai in November.
In mid-November, members of the Jaafar family who were being chased by Lebanese security forces entered the Fakhri family home demanding to use their car as a getaway vehicle.
The family refused, so the fugitives shot the couple and one of their sons. The woman died immediately, while the husband succumbed to his wounds later. Their son, Romeo, survived.
The security plan also led to the arrest Monday of three Lebanese nationals in the eastern town of Brital, police said in a statement. Police also seized two stolen cars, the statement added.
The latest arrests brings the total number of detainees to 131 since the security plan was launched on Thursday.
On Sunday, the Lebanese Army said 58 people were arrested in raids on the Baalbek towns of Brital, Kneiseh and Maqneh.
In a joint operation with the Internal Security Forces and the General Security, the Army also discovered many drug factory and confiscated quantities of drugs, stolen vehicles and weapons.
The security plan will go on for several days until the area is “clear of any fugitives, outlaws or drug dealers,” Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said in a news conference from Brital last week, adding that a permanent operations room had been established in the Bekaa Valley to pursue fugitives.
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