Celebratory gunfire to ring in the New Year in Lebanon left a displaced Syrian woman in the Taybeh camp near Baalbek dead, and injured a child in the Choueifat area and another person in Tripoli.
The director-general of Middle East Airlines (MEA), Mohammed Al-Hout, confirmed that three planes were hit by stray bullets.
Such bullets also fell on the roofs of residential buildings in Beirut, its southern suburbs, Tripoli in the north, and the Baalbek and Hermel governorates in eastern Lebanon.
Palestinian camps also witnessed intense gunfire, especially in Rashidiya, Burj Al-Shamali and Al-Bass (southern Lebanon).
Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the relevant bodies were searching for a number of people for firing on New Year’s Eve.
“The most important element is community awareness. Therefore, security agencies often carry out awareness campaigns for this purpose,” they said.
The General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) issued a statement warning of random shooting on New Year’s Eve and calling on citizens to report any violation.
Beirut MP Roula Tabsh condemned the practice. “It is neither manhood nor heroism, shooting over people's heads,” she said. “It is a backward and criminal phenomenon.”
She urged the security and judicial bodies to “strike hard.”
“It is unacceptable that we fall hostages to some outlaws,” she stated.
