OMM Newsroom
The Lebanese army said Friday it had seized a large quantity of weapons and ammunition from a warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburbs and arrested one person during the operation, according to Anadolu Agency.
The army said its Intelligence Directorate conducted the operation after monitoring and tracking the movement and trafficking of weapons. Military intelligence personnel raided the warehouse in the Musharrafieh area, the statement said.
A Lebanese citizen identified by the initials A.A. was arrested. The army did not name the owner of the seized weapons or say whether they were connected to an organization or armed group. It did not provide details about the weapons’ type or quantity.
Beirut’s southern suburbs are considered Hezbollah’s main stronghold and a center of the group’s political, popular and security influence. The area is home to institutions and headquarters affiliated with Hezbollah.
The raid comes amid debate over Hezbollah’s weapons and efforts by Lebanese authorities to extend state security control and restrict arms to state institutions. The army did not link the operation to a government decision banning Hezbollah’s military and security activities.
On March 2, the Lebanese government ordered an immediate ban on those activities, declaring them unlawful and instructing Hezbollah to hand over its weapons to the state and limit its activities to politics.
The decision followed Hezbollah’s claim of responsibility for rocket fire toward Israel amid a regional military escalation. The government said decisions on war and peace must remain exclusively in state hands.
The government directed military and security agencies to enforce the decision, prevent military operations outside legitimate state institutions and arrest those who violate it. It also tasked the army with continuing a plan to bring weapons north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon under state control, using the necessary means to complete the process.
Hezbollah has refused to surrender its weapons while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory and attacks continue, arguing that its arms are necessary to confront Israel.
The government is seeking to strengthen state authority across Lebanon as disagreements persist over how and when weapons should come under exclusive state control.
