Residents Reassured after Army Raids in Akkar over Soldier Murder

The army carried out several raids on Friday in Akkar towns, after the murder of soldier Milad Mohammed Issa in al-Rihaniyeh.

“Army troops patrolled and closed roads for search and inspection in al-Dreib on the highway of Halba-Qobaiyat,” announced the National News Agency.

“The raids brought an atmosphere of satisfaction and reassurance to the residents, after the recent incidents in al-Rihaniyeh,” it added.

At the same time, other troops were raiding a number of Syrian refugee gatherings on the outskirts of Khirbet Daoud and they arrested several people.

The raid was accompanied with armored patrols and fixed checkpoints set up by the army along the road from al-Kuwaikhat to al-Kawashra.

Al-Rihaniyeh had on Thursday held a funeral for the soldier Issa, who was shot dead at dawn at the hands of unknown gunmen.

The army has been facing rising assaults following the gunbattles between troops and Sunni extremists who overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August.

Many Islamists in Lebanon accuse the army of backing Shiite Hizbullah, which has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to support the regime of President Bashar Assad against rebels seeking to topple him.

Z.A.

Y.R.