At least six people were killed and more than 60 others injured in a deliberate shooting attack targeting groups of peaceful demonstrators heading to the Adliya area to demand the departure of judicial investigator in the file of the Beirut port explosion, Judge Tariq Al-Bitar.
According to a statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command, “As protesters headed to the Adliya area, they were exposed to live fire in the Tayouneh area – Badaro. The army hastened to cordon off the area and deployed in the neighbourhoods and its entrances.”
President Michel Aoun has contacted Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the Ministers of Defence and of the Interior, and the Army Commander, and followed up with them on the developments of the situation in light of the events that occurred in the Tayouneh area and its suburbs, in order to address the situation in preparation for the necessary action.
The protest manifestation was attended mostly by members and sympathisers of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, leading many to suspect that followers of the US-backed former warlord Samir Geagea were involved in the attack.
