Maarab Guards See 'White Drone' Flying at Low Altitude
The Lebanese Forces on Friday announced that a suspicious aircraft had resumed its flights over the residence of LF leader Samir Geagea and the LF's headquarters in the Kesrouan town of Maarab.
The LF's media department said the “unidentified aircraft” has been hovering over the area since several days and that its most recent overflight took place “at 4:00 a.m.” Friday.
In a statement, the media dept. said the aircraft “has been flying at low altitude, and in addition to its usual sound, the members of the guard platoon have seen the white aircraft with their naked eyes.”
The LF noted that the white color of the alleged flying object indicates that it is “most likely an unmanned aerial vehicle.”
“The Army Command was immediately informed of this issue and it promised to follow it up closely,” the LF added.
In an interview with Future TV on Jan. 22, Geagea said the drone in question "could be for surveillance purposes," noting that he "cannot accuse anyone before confirming all the details."
"I consider the issue to be a message in the context of the messages (death threats) received by (MP) Sethrida (Geagea) and March 14 leaders and the assassination of Mohammed Shatah," Geagea added.
In an earlier interview with Al-Arabiya on Jan. 20, Geagea said “preparations to assassinate me are ongoing.”
He confirmed media reports that first spoke of drones flying over his Maarab residence, saying: “the espionage planes are part of a policy of intimidation against the March 14 camp.”
Geagea said he had first noticed the activity in early January, adding that security personnel at Maarab noted that the sound generated by the plane differed from normal planes and its course also differed from regular ones.
The mysterious aircraft flew over Maarab on January 8 at around 12:30 am, he revealed.
Geagea said the suspicious activity prompted the state security forces at the facility to contact the Army Command to inform it of the development.
A similar incident took place on January 14 and the alleged plane hovered over Maarab for about two hours between 5:30 and 7:30 pm at a relatively low altitude, said Geagea.
He revealed that he immediately contacted Army chief Qahwaji, who told him that the plane “was definitely not a Lebanese (army) one."
"And I personally believe that they were not Israeli surveillance drones as they usually fly over the South and the Bekaa, not over this specific region," Geagea added.
Qahwaji pledged to Geagea that he would follow up on this issue.
Geagea had escaped an assassination attempt by snipers as he was taking a walk in the garden of his Maarab residence in April 2012.
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