Tensions in Bekaa as Jaafar Clan, Deir Ahmar Residents Clash

Tensions were high in the eastern Bekaa region on Sunday in the wake of a clash between Jaafar clan members and residents from Deir al-Ahmar, reported MTV.

Media reports had stated that members of the clan had set up a checkpoint at the Iaat-Harf Shlifa road in the wake of an individual dispute in the area.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said that they set up the checkpoint in response to an assault by Btedei residents against three Jaafar clan woodcutters.

It later said that the army set up a checkpoint at the same crossroads after the Jaafar clan members had left the scene.

The military is inspecting the identification cards of pedestrians in the wake of the assault, said MTV.

Meanwhile, an official from Baalbek Sheikh Mohammed Jaafar said that the situation had been contained.

Tensions had been high in Btedei in the wake of another clash in November.

On November 15, Sobhi and Nadimeh Fakhri were killed at the hands of fugitives from the Jaafar family who were fleeing army troops.

The gunmen entered the family's house with the intent of taking their vehicle but the tenants showed resistance, which prompted the armed men to shoot the couple and their son.

The residents of Btedei had warned they would go after the criminals if authorities fail to arrest them. They held the Jaafar clan responsible for the crime.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi last week urged the state to fulfill justice in the murder of the couple, as he called on the Jaafar family to hand over their killers and rejected any “political cover.”

M.T.