Weapons Display During Ashura Draws Ire in Beirut
MP Urges Arrests After Video Surfaces
A video showing young men brandishing weapons in Beirut during Ashura commemorations has sparked outrage, with one member of parliament calling for immediate arrests. The display has ignited concerns over security and intimidation tactics in the capital.
Video Sparks Condemnation
A video clip posted by Representative Ibrahim Munimna shows a group of young men carrying and brandishing weapons on a Beirut street during the Ashura revival. Munimna sharply criticized the display.
Munimna stated that “The lifting of weapons in the neighborhoods of Beirut and this unjustified review is a weapon for bullying and the intimidation of people and the city’s captive to the weapon of the weapon, which we will not accept under any argument or name.”
Call for Accountability
According to Munimna, such displays demonstrate “a lack of understanding of the political reality”
and are essentially meaningless in Beirut. Munimna is urging law enforcement to take swift action.
Munimna wrote: “And if it is a message aimed at saying adherence to weapons, it is unfortunately that it indicates a lack of understanding of the political reality, and an empty of its content in the alleys of the capital, Beirut.
He is specifically calling on “the judicial and security authorities to move immediately and arrest everyone who appears in this video, and referred them to investigation.”
Need for Security
Munimna stressed Beirut’s critical need for enhanced security, observing that “The capital, Beirut, today and more than past, is in the dire need to impose security and withdraw weapons that are weapons.”
He added that he intends to monitor the situation with relevant authorities, stating, “We will follow this with the concerned concerns.”
This incident comes as Lebanon struggles with ongoing political and economic instability. According to a recent report, gun violence is on the rise in many parts of the country, exacerbating existing tensions (Human Rights Watch 2021).
