Tensions High in Bourj Hammoud after Man Critically Wounded in Brawl

Tensions were running high Sunday in the northern Metn area of Bourj Hammoud, in the wake of a clash that erupted Saturday between residents and a number of Kurd young men.

“Residents staged a sit-in outside the Bourj Hammoud Municipality, demanding that security be imposed in the area,” LBCI television reported.

They also called for “protecting them from the Kurds,” saying they must be kicked out of their houses.

Another sit-in was held outside the water firm in Bourj Hammoud amid the deployment of army troops and Internal Security Forces members.

According to the Internal Security Forces' Traffic Management Center, the road was blocked near the Saint Joseph Church during the protests.

In the evening, the ISF issued a statement saying "the Bourj Hammoud department arrested overnight 5 Syrians in connection with the clash," noting that "investigations are underway under the supervision of the judiciary."

Later, state-run National News Agency said security forces restored calm on Bourj Hammoud's streets after staging patrols and arresting a number of people suspected of “involvement in Saturday's clash and in creating new tensions on Sunday.”

The agency said the area had witnessed a commotion “after some residents noticed that a number of Kurds were carrying knives.”

A verbal dispute had erupted into a major brawl on Saturday. According to witnesses, sharp objects were used in the fight.

A video showing a man hurling a big gas cylinder at a crowd from the second floor of a building has gone viral on social media.

The man who was hit by the cylinder, Elias Kalash, is reportedly lying in hospital in a critical condition.

Fistfights involving foreign workers are frequent in Bourj Hammoud, a predominantly Armenian Lebanese neighborhood.

Y.R.