People in the Lebanese northeastern border town of Arsal pleaded on Saturday with the army to take action after three residents were killed after a mine, left over from last year’s clashes with gunmen, went off.
The mines were planted by gunmen, who were holed up on the outskirts of Arsal. They were driven out of the region after a major military offensive in 2017.
The victims of the latest mine blast were identified as Youssef Audeh, Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Hujeiri and his son Ahmed.
They were killed when they drove their pick up truck over a mine that was planted on the road leading to the al-Taroush farm, which is their source of income, reported the National News Agency.
Their death raises to five the toll from mine blasts in the region.
Thousands of locals attended their funeral and they called on the army to provide them with a map that pinpoints the locations of the mines.
The residents have for years suffered from the gunmen’s occupation of their farms and outskirts and they have waited long to return to their land, only to be confronted with the danger of explosives.
