Lebanese army takes Hezbollah munition truck to military post

The army moved a truck that had carried Hezbollah munitions from the road where it crashed to a military post early Thursday after clashes at the scene killed two people.

The truck overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital in the Christian town of Kahaleh on Wednesday, on the highway that links Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Lebanese troops immediately cordoned off the truck filled with large boxes, which residents suspected belonged to Hezbollah.

Two people died in brief clashes after the truck overturned.

"The cargo of the truck has been transported to a military centre, and an investigation has been opened by the competent judicial authorities," it added.

The army said its troops had removed the truck at dawn and reopened the Beirut-Damascus road which Kahale residents had blocked in protest.

It confirmed the truck held munitions, but its brief statement did not say what the munitions were or who owned them. It did not mention Hezbollah and said an investigation is ongoing over the clashes.

However, Hezbollah said in a statement that the truck belonged to them without saying whether it had weapons inside it. It said local gunmen attacked people in the truck, leading to an exchange of fire that fatally wounded one Hezbollah member "who was protecting the truck."

Meanwhile, Kahaleh residents in a statement said one resident was killed when armed men opened fire, but did not include any details.

Residents tried to stop the army from taking the truck before seeing what was inside it and occasionally scuffled with troops.

The army brought in a crane that moved the boxes into an army truck that drove in the direction of Beirut, reportedly heading to the Defense Ministry just a few kilometers away. The army closed the road until they were able to transport the truck at dawn.

A funeral is due to be held on Thursday for Ahmad Ali Kassas, the Hezbollah member who was killed in the clashes.

Hezbollah supporters posted pictures on social media showing Kassas dressed in military fatigues in Syria, a country at war where Hezbollah has been fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

In August 2021, angry residents of a mainly Druze village in southern Lebanon stopped a truck carrying a rocket launcher used by Hezbollah in an attack on Israel, accusing the Shiite movement of endangering civilian lives.