Lebanonupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapLebanese Army Seizes Weapons Depot in Beirut’s Musharrafieh, Arrests One
3 West Asian1 IsraeliMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
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Lebanese army seized a large quantity of weapons and ammunition from a warehouse in Musharrafieh. One Lebanese national was arrested during the raid conducted by Army Intelligence.
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Raid in Beirut suburbs
The Lebanese army said it seized “a large quantity of weapons and ammunition” from a warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the Musharrafieh area, and arrested one person during the operation. The army said its Intelligence Directorate carried out a “qualitative security operation after precise monitoring and follow-up of weapons transfers and trafficking,” and it did not identify the owner or specify the exact type or quantity of the seized arms. The Lebanese army announced the raid as part of efforts to bring weapons under exclusive state control after a government decision banning Hezbollah’s military and security activities, while the army said it did not link the operation to that decision.
The raid took place in an area described as a Hezbollah stronghold, and the Lebanese government ordered the group to surrender its weapons to the state and limit its activities to politics. Hezbollah refused to surrender its weapons while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory and attacks continue, arguing that its arms are necessary to confront Israel.
Who owned the cache
L’Orient Today said the Lebanese Army announced a “significant quantity of weapons and war munitions” was seized during a rare raid on a warehouse in the Mousharrafieh neighborhood, and it said the army arrested a Lebanese national identified by the initials A.A. L’Orient Today said the army did not specify whether the warehouse is linked to Hezbollah, and it said local media reported that authorities were still searching for a second suspect. An-Nahar’s security source told L’Orient Today that the warehouse belonged to an individual from the Bekaa who had been arrested, and L’Orient Today said the source added that Hezbollah did not oppose the seizure of such a large quantity of weapons.
The Times of Israel said the Lebanese army seized “a large quantity of weapons and military ammunition” in the southern suburbs known as a stronghold of the Hezbollah terror group, and it said law enforcement officials launched an investigation. The Times of Israel said the army did not say who owned the seized weapons, while L’Orient Today reported competing local accounts about whether the warehouse was connected to Hezbollah or to an individual from the Bekaa.
State control and wider crackdown
L’Orient Today said the arms seizure in Beirut’s southern suburbs came as Lebanese authorities tried to enforce the principle of the state monopoly on arms, amid rising tensions with Hezbollah. L’Orient Today linked the raid to earlier cases, including the seizure on October 5 of several hundred kilos of explosives in Dahr al-Baïdar that Hezbollah acknowledged owning, and it said prosecutions were opened on October 30 against 13 Hezbollah members. L’Orient Today said the challenge would be how far the army and judiciary could push investigations, as Nawaf Salam’s government signaled its intention to end impunity and enforce the law across the country.
Anadolu Ajansı said the government directed military and security agencies to enforce the ban on Hezbollah’s military and security activities, prevent military operations outside legitimate state institutions, and arrest violators. Anadolu Ajansı said the army’s raid also followed other security actions, including the arrest of three individuals in southern Beirut’s suburbs over crimes related to narcotics and theft, and the arrest of five men suspected of being linked to Hezbollah in a mountainous area between Batroun, Bsharri, and Koura.