Lebanese Armed Forces personnel have stepped up patrols in Beirut and its sensitive southern suburbs after a surge in tensions with Hezbollah supporters.
The army published images of heavily armed convoys patrolling the capital and temporary checkpoints being set up “to pursue wanted individuals and those disrupting security”.
The tension has partly been fuelled by the recent seizure of half a tonne of explosives by Lebanese authorities before Hezbollah could transfer them to the capital's suburbs, where the group has a strong presence.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has ordered that authorities “expand the investigation” into the explosives interception at the Dahr Al Baidar checkpoint in the Bekaa Valley.
The US weighed in last week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to ensure explosives seized from Hezbollah are not returned to the group.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese political party and armed group, has claimed ownership of the 250kg of TNT-type explosives and 250kg of C4, saying they were to be used against the Israeli military forces that currently occupy swathes of south Lebanon. Hezbollah had demanded the release of the two drivers and the explosives.
The seizure of the explosives, which heightens tension over a push by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, led to supporters of the group gathering to show their backing.
Further exacerbating the situation was an incident in the Gallerie Semaan neighbourhood on the edge of Beirut's southern suburbs. Police were sent to raid a warehouse there that contained spoiled medicines, following an order from prosecutors.
According to the Internal Security Forces, they were quickly surrounded by “a number of young men gathered on their motorcycles [who] attempted to prevent the force from raiding the warehouse”. The army was eventually deployed to calm the situation.
Mohammed Qassem, the son of Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, on Sunday published a statement denying any link to the warehouse in response to social media rumours he was connected to it.
Hezbollah said the incident took place after the ISF entered “without following the agreed procedures between the group and security authorities”.
