Cabinet to be formed within hours if minor hurdles crossed

BEIRUT: If minor differences over some portfolios are resolved, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is expected to announce a national unity Cabinet Friday following a compromise between the Future Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement over the Energy Ministry, political sources said Thursday.

The row over the Energy portfolio, which has held up the Cabinet formation for weeks, was resolved in a series of phone contacts between caretaker Energy Minister Gebran Bassil and Nader Hariri, head of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s office.

Under the compromise, Bassil, who has insisted on retaining the Energy portfolio, will be allotted the Foreign Ministry, while Tashnag MP Arthur Nazarian will replace Bassil as energy minister, a political source told The Daily Star.

Bassil will also double as acting energy minister, the source said.

Nazarian belongs to the parliamentary Change and Reform bloc, whose leader MP Michel Aoun was adamant on retaining the Energy portfolio for Bassil, his son-in-law.

Under Salam’s proposed 8-8-8 Cabinet lineup, which is based on the rotation of ministerial portfolios among sects and parties, the Future Movement MP Samir Jisr will be allotted the Interior Ministry, while the Defense portfolio will go to caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Samir Moqbel, the source said.

Caretaker Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil from Speaker Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc will be named finance minister, while March 14 MP Butros Harb will be allotted the Telecommunications Ministry, the source added.

Berri’s bloc will also get the Public Works Ministry portfolio, the source said.

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour from MP Walid Jumblatt’s parliamentary bloc will be named health minister.

Media reports said the Economy Ministry would be allotted to the Future Movement, the Labor Ministry to the Marada Movement, and the Information portfolio to the Kataeb Party.

It was not immediately known what ministerial portfolios Hezbollah would get in the new Cabinet.

However, minor differences remained over the distribution of some ministerial portfolios that could delay the birth of the new Cabinet as rival political parties are jockeying for the Public Works and Justice ministries.

Berri is scheduled to begin a weeklong Gulf tour Friday afternoon and his presence at Baabda Palace before the announcement of the Cabinet lineup is essential according to norms.

Therefore, if the speaker leaves Beirut without visiting Baabda Palace, this would signal a delay in the Cabinet formation.

Aoun’s agreement to allot the Energy portfolio to a member of his bloc removed the last major hurdle holding up Cabinet’s formation.

The FPM leader has repeatedly rejected the principle of rotating ministerial portfolios, arguing that it is unconstitutional and aims solely at stripping his party of the Energy Ministry, currently held by Bassil.

The concept of rotating ministerial portfolios was part of a political deal to form a new Cabinet based on the 8-8-8 lineup. The deal was reached last month by the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition, the Future Movement, and Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party in a bid to break the 10-month-old Cabinet impasse.

Aoun and March 8 parties have threatened to withdraw from a fait accompli government, a move that would have plunged the country into further political turmoil. Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman said he hoped political leaders would recognize the dangerous phase the country was passing trough which he said should stimulate boosted cooperation toward the Cabinet formation process.

He also said that a new Cabinet would revive the executive branch of government and serve as a political umbrella for Lebanon and the Lebanese.

Sleiman’s remarks came during a meeting he chaired with several high-ranking security and judicial officials.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and caretaker Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi attended the meeting at Baabda Palace.

The meeting discussed the Lebanese Army’s recent discovery of a terrorist cell and its prevention of security incidents including car bombings and suicide attacks.

The attendees agreed on the need to maintain cooperation among security agencies including the exchange of intelligence.

Mikati struck an upbeat note on the Cabinet formation.

“So far, it seems that there are positive and good matters. The Cabinet may see the light of day soon,” Mikati told reporters after meeting Beirut Maronite Archbishop Boulos Mattar.

He called for national unity to save Lebanon “especially under these very difficult circumstances.”

“We hope this matter will be translated very soon through the formation of a Cabinet at the earliest possible time so that it can begin its work at all levels,” Mikati added.

Separately, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is set to address the Lebanese live on the party’s Al-Manar TV station at 8:30 p.m. Sunday on the anniversary of the assassination of the group’s leaders Imam Mughniyeh, Abbas Musawi and Sheikh Ragheb Harb.

In addition to the Cabinet crisis, Nasrallah is expected to touch on the growing threat of takfiri groups following the wave of deadly car bombings and suicide attacks that targeted the group’s strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa town of Hermel over the past few weeks.

Jihadist recruitment tops security fears in Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: The watchful eyes of Army troops were transfixed on pedestrians as well as passing vehicles along Abdel-Hamid Karami Square in the northern city of Tripoli.

Their heavy presence was an indication that the military is expecting more security incidents that could either target their units or public centers, such as the Tripoli Serail or the Justice Palace.

In anticipation of the worst, the military has reinforced patrols with more tanks, giving one entering the troubled city the impression that it has become a war zone.

Information available about the security situation indicates that something dangerous is brewing in Tripoli and that it is related to the dynamics on the ground in embattled Syria. Residents express paranoia over the instability in the city, which includes bouts of arbitrary killings, assassinations, thefts and stray bullets. Recently however, it’s the growing number of young men involved in the fighting in Syria that has inspired fear for many residents.

Jackson Halal, a branch manager at a bank in Tripoli, is alarmed at what he sees around him.

“We are at the bottom of an abyss, with the economic and social situation reflecting the possibility of a deep crisis and an unknown fate if things remain as they are,” he said. “Twenty seven stores which carry international clothing brands have closed this past week in the neighborhoods of Azmi, Nadim al-Jisr and Qadisha. They represented the central hub of Tripoli’s trade scene, while the rest of the souks have transformed into battlegrounds for the most trivial reasons.”

The apparent calm in Tripoli actually conceals a fragile security situation, which could ignite at any moment. Armed gangs are taking advantage of the unbearable situation and the conflict in Syria to impose their own rules and conditions, and this has gripped daily life in the city.

One politically active sheikh denied that there was a link between armed gangs in Tripoli and the Syrian uprising but did say the former were using the conflict next door for financial gain in different ways, including blackmailing truck drivers coming into the country en route to Beirut, building illegally and violating construction permits.

The Salafist community of Tripoli does not fear armed gangs, but is alarmed by the reported rise in extremist cells and groups that belong, ideologically speaking, to organizations like the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria.

Their anxieties stem from the fact that these groups attract hordes of young Salafist boys.

One member of the Salafist community who requested anonymity said the most dangerous development in Tripoli were the fatwas issued by Syrian rebel groups soliciting young Salafist men to fight.

“The most dangerous developments in Tripoli nowadays are the effects these fatwas from ISIS and the Nusra Front are having on the minds of young men who won’t hesitate to carry out these calls, even the most dangerous of missions,” he said.

“The latest fatwa, which is definitely the most dangerous is one issued by ISIS in Syria, calling for the killing of Alawites, robbing them of their money and capturing their women and children, calling them a misguided infidel sect,” he said, adding that the fatwa has said Alawites could be spared if “they forgo their religion and join them by publicly announcing their alliance.”

“Can you imagine the danger of adopting this fatwa in Tripoli and Akkar, which includes approximately 100,000 Alawite residents?” he asked.

Moreover, he added, some are predicting that operations are being planned to target the Army in particular, which would constitute the first of many attacks that might eventually target Salafists.

“The Syrian presence, done under the pretext of seeking humanitarian assistance, is frightening, and raises doubts from all security standpoints,” he said.

Association of Muslim Scholars member Sheikh Nabil Rahim voices similar fears, saying that so-called “blood fatwas” are extremely dangerous as they stand in opposition to the edicts of Islam, which forbids suicide and the killing of those looking to keep the peace, outside the context of war. He added that one maintains religious values by not shedding blood.

“The state of Islam in Tripoli is not well and needs help, as there are fears that it will be exploited in Tripoli,” he said.

Rahim said these fears pertaining to the state of Islam are not limited to Lebanon, but could be seen across the Arab world, including Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is being targeted by the military government, on the ground in Syria where Islamist groups are fighting one another and in the disintegration of the Libyan government at the hands of fighting Islamist groups.

“The Islamist movement did not master any art, save the art of ruminating on one’s failures over and over again,” he said.

A large number of Salafist in Tripoli are apprehensive about the atmosphere in the city and are discussing their own situation among themselves. Many voice fears that Salafists will become scapegoats for regional projects, even though some of them expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of fighting in Syria.

The most prominent of these men is Hussam al-Sabbagh, known as Abu al-Hasan, who is one of Al-Qaeda’s strongmen in Tripoli.

Sabbagh did not participate in the latest battles in Tripoli because of his belief that the recurrent clashes are an absurd and useless fight. Instead, he has preoccupied himself with recruiting fighters for Syria.

The latest developments on the ground in Syria have him worried, however. By way of example, he recalls that he begged one of his followers, Ahmad Diab, to return from the battlefields in Syria. But his pleas were unheeded, as Diab reportedly underwent a suicide mission.

Ironically, it was Sabbagh who recruited Diab to fight in Syria.

Numerous others have followed in Diab’s footsteps, participating in battles in the Syrian border town of Qalaat al-Hosn.

Though there is a lack of statistics, according to well-informed sources a number of fighters involved in the Qaalat al-Hosn battles were from Jund al-Sham, a rebel group, and approximately 100 members are Lebanese and Palestinian. The sources confirm that at least 25 of them are from Tripoli, and most are young boys under the age of 20. They are currently besieged in the Syrian town of Zara.

Emir Khaled al-Mahmoud, known as Abu Sleiman, in his 30s, is in charge of Jund al-Sham. He was previously imprisoned in Roumieh.

Abu Sleiman, according to those who knew him, was a very simple man who hailed from the village of Mashta Hasan and was a resident of Bab al-Tabbaneh before moving to Ain al-Hilweh and joining Jund al-Sham. He made use of his roots to move and transfer a number of fighters into Syria, many of whom still manage to communicate with their families.

A large number of residents refused to speak about their sons fighting in Syria, though some said they were recruited over the Internet. But in terms of actually crossing over into Syria, the families said more than one person was involved, and they were usually never heard from again.

Pope voices concern on Mideast situation

BEIRUT: Pope Francis voiced his deep concern Thursday over developments in the Middle East in general, and the situation in Lebanon in particular, the National News Agency reported.

It said the pope spoke during his meeting with participants in the Roman Catholic Church’s central governing body, including Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, in the Vatican. Following the meeting, the pope met separately with Rai, the NNA said.

The patriarch will meet again with the pope next week, it added.

Rai is currently on a two-week visit to the Vatican to take part in meetings at the Roman Catholic Church’s governing body. Speaking to reporters at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport before departing for the Vatican Tuesday, Rai warned against forming a fait accompli government, saying such a move would plunge Lebanon into further political turmoil.

The situation of Christians in the Middle East is expected to take center stage at upcoming talks between Pope Francis and U.S. President Barack Obama.

Diplomatic sources told The Daily Star that Obama’s visit to the Vatican and his meeting with the pope would focus on the position of Christians in the Middle East in general.

The sources said the Vatican-American talks would try to clarify some of the most sensitive religious issues and would adopt stances that would benefit Christians in the Middle East and Lebanon in particular.

The Vatican has already formed a crisis committee on the subject and has commissioned a group of bishops to prepare a report detailing the reality facing Christians in the region and their reasons for emigrating, as well as identifying possible solutions.

At the request of the crisis committee, Bkirki has also prepared a report on the situation of the Middle East’s Christians which was discussed by the pope and Rai during the patriarch’s last visit to the Vatican.

Abbas arrest drop in the bucket: judicial source

BEIRUT: The handful of suspects recently arrested in connection with terrorist attacks targeting predominantly Shiite neighborhoods are merely a drop in the bucket, a judicial source warned Thursday, adding that many more extremist militants are thought to be active in the country. Wednesday’s arrest of Palestinian Naim Abbas, a “leading figure” in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, was seen as a victory for authorities as his testimony allowed the Lebanese Army to thwart three more possible attacks.

“But that does not necessarily mean the end of terrorist organizations,” the source said. “The [Army’s] security plan was based on information that Abbas and others including [previous detainees] ... are merely members or groups among dozens of other groups created by Al-Qaeda and its offshoots, such as the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the Nusra Front and the Jammal Jarrah Brigades.”

Last month, the Army arrested a senior commander in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Jamal Daftardar, as well as Sunni Sheikh Omar Atrash, who was charged with belonging to the brigades and Al-Qaeda and involvement in two suicide attacks in Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik.

Daftardar has been charged with recruiting dozens of men and transferring them to Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan after training them to use weapons and make bombs.

Last year, the Army also arrested Sheikh Nawaf al-Hussein, whose case was linked to that of Atrash.

Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr Thursday charged Hussein with involvement in the Haret Hreik attacks, and of belonging to Al-Qaeda and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades.

The arrest of Abbas, who was seen as a “big catch,” was the result of an exchange of Lebanese and Western intelligence, the source said. The operation mirrored the Western-Lebanese cooperation that led to the arrest of Majid al-Majid, the head of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades who died in hospital while he was in Army custody, he added.

Investigation into Abbas would be “extensive” given that he was the link between terrorist individuals and groups operating Lebanon and Syria, the source said.

Such groups facilitated the entry of explosives-laden vehicles into Lebanon and recruited suicide bombers to carry out attacks in residential neighborhoods controlled by Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa, the source added.

Upon his arrest, Abbas confessed that he had prepared a car bomb to be set off at a later date and that the vehicle was left in Corniche al-Mazraa, the Army said Wednesday.

The source added that Abbas was supposed to determine the target of the explosives-laden vehicle after he had “secured a path that would not draw suspicion from the Army or Hezbollah.”

Abbas was also supposed to pick the target of a vehicle that the Army seized Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Military Investigative Judge Nabil Wehbi interrogated Atrash in the presence of his lawyer, Tareq Shandab.

Atrash denied the charges, saying he confessed under duress and that he had signed some of the testimonies without knowledge of its content, the source said.

Military Investigative Judge Imad Zein issued an arrest warrant Thursday against a man identified as Mohammad A. for belonging to a terrorist group. Mohammad’s case was linked to Daftardar’s.

Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblatt praised the Army’s success in cracking down on terrorist cells.

“These [Army] steps have once again confirmed that there is no substitute for the state and its security agencies which are working under difficult and complicated circumstances aggravated by internal political divisions and the raging regional fires,” the Druze lawmaker said in a statement.

“Amid mounting security and terrorist challenges, the security performance has sent a strong message that the state, when it makes up its mind, can achieve much,” Jumblatt added.

Jumblatt saluted the Army and all security apparatuses for this achievement and for their continued efforts to control the security situation and maintain stability.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces have tightened security in Sidon to forestall any possible reaction from militant groups following the arrest of Abbas, who lived in the Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh near the southern coastal city.

The Army beefed up security measures at military posts in Sidon, closing the main road near the Zugheib barracks with cement barricades, metal barriers and barbed wire.

Troops also fortified military positions east of Sidon and in the southern town of Zahrani.

In an attempt to prevent bomb-laden vehicles from entering Lebanon, the Army used bulldozers to increase mounds of earth in areas near the border with Syria, particularly in Syrian territory near the northeastern town of Arsal up to the mountainous area of the town of Brital.

The Army set up checkpoints on the Arsal-Labweh road, searching cars coming out of Arsal.

Arsal’s residents reacted with shock and condemnation to the news that an explosives-laden car seized by the Army Wednesday had come from their town.

They rejected charges of terrorism in their town and urged the Army to tightly control the border with Syria to prevent rigged vehicles from entering Lebanese territory from Syria.

The Lebanese Army said Wednesday that it had thwarted an attempt to deliver a vehicle filled with explosives from Syria to suicide bombers in Lebanon.

It said the car, a silver Kia, was seized and that its occupants – three women – were all arrested.

The Kia had come from Yabroud in Syria and was destined for Beirut, the Army said, adding that the three women intended to transfer the car to suicide bombers.

STL provides sense of justice on anniversary of Hariri killing

BEIRUT: Cane in hand, Fatima al-Rashidi strode slowly to the line of graves, the melodic voice of a Quranic recital floating in the background.

She uttered the verses of Al-Fatiha, the opening chapter of Muslim scripture. This time, there were more casualties to commemorate, for alongside the bodies of the men who stood guard around former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were others who paid the ultimate price.

Now in front of the smiling portraits of men like Mazen al-Zahabi, Hariri’s paramedic, or the sunglass-clad Talal Nasser, his senior bodyguard, lay flower wreaths at the grave of Mohammad Shatah, the former finance minister killed in a car bomb in December, and Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, the intelligence chief assassinated in another car bomb in October 2012.

Today marks nine years to the day after a massive car bomb ripped through Hariri’s motorcade, shattered Downtown Beirut, plunged Lebanon into political turmoil and ended 30 years of Syrian tutelage.

This year, the anniversary is different. The trial of four suspects accused of complicity in the Hariri assassination has begun at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon near The Hague. Five members of Hezbollah have been indicted by the court.

“It is the day of justice,” said Nuhad Mashnouq, a Future Movement MP and close friend of Hariri. “This is the first anniversary where the tribunal’s work is underway.”

Mashnouq said the start of trial was emblematic of the principle of justice, rather than revenge, that Hariri adhered to. “I think the martyred prime minister feels greater comfort now in his grave,” he added.

“Despite all the bloodshed, the fear, the intimidation, and the attempts to kill the STL and the process of ending impunity, the trial started,” said Amal Mudallali, the former premier’s foreign policy adviser. “For the first time in 10 years justice seems possible for Rafik Hariri and all those who were killed with him or after him.”

“The killers know their time is up and very soon,” Mudallali added.

“They know the end of impunity is upon us.”

Mudallali said her former boss’ sacrifice made it possible for Lebanon to be free of Syria’s military grip, with massive street protests forcing the hand of President Bashar Assad shortly after the assassination to order a Syrian withdrawal.

Hariri would also have been “shocked” at Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war, she said. But he would have also refused to let Lebanon to remain in a stalemate, and “would have done everything to keep the country moving forward.”

Mudallali said Hariri’s absence exacerbated the polarization in Lebanon, and has left a lingering sense of despair that has promoted the flight of young Lebanese from the country. “Now there is a collective sense of despair, a huge deficit of hope,” she said.

But Mashnouq said Hariri’s killing was a result of the already acute political polarization in Lebanon. Syria would have eventually withdrawn from Lebanon anyway, and Hariri’s presence would have vastly improved the politic climate in the aftermath of that Syrian departure.

“The situation would have been much better and the Syrians would have left,” he said. “His assassination sped up their departure, but they would have departed regardless.”

But others said Hariri’s killing was symbolic of a deeper conflict.

“Hariri was a project that is fundamentally different than politics in Lebanon today,” said Imad Salamey, associate professor of political science at Lebanese American University and author of a book on Lebanese politics. “It was a project of stability, building, tourism, infrastructure, development and free economy.”

“Hariri represents a project, it’s not just a person,” he added.

Salamey said this project contradicted much of the confrontational approach that characterized Lebanese politics today, and his assassination paved the way for Lebanon to become an arena open to the interference of regional powers.

He said Hariri’s relationship with the resistance today would have likely been tense because his open, moderate approach contradicts the more “isolationist” and sectarian program on either side of the religious divide.

But despite Hariri’s absence, Salamey said the majority of the Lebanese back what he stood for.

“Hariri’s project continues and is still held onto by most Lebanese who want to build a state where everyone is equal under the law,” he said.

MP Bahia Hariri, Rafik’s sister, echoed the sentiment in an address delivered at a ceremony Thursday, by saying her brother’s enemies would not be able to destroy his legacy.

“They were able to assassinate the Rafik Hariri who was born on Dec. 1, but they cannot overcome the Rafik Hariri who was born on Feb. 14,” she said, referring to the dates of the former premier’s birthday and assassination.

But for Rashidi, the school manager who was visiting Hariri’s grave Thursday, his anniversary marks a different legacy.

The 74-year-old recently retired after a quarter century overseeing three schools built by a charitable foundation set up by the former premier. She was on a visit to the nearby Al-Amin Mosque and burial grounds with a number of students, but snuck a few moments to pay her respects to Hariri and his companions.

“These are new generations [emerging] every year,” she said. “We must work on their minds and souls to combat extremism.”

The 5,000 students in Hariri’s schools, and those he sponsored for studies abroad, are part of a crucial legacy, Rashidi added.

She said she visits his burial ground whenever she is in Beirut, and prays for him constantly.

“He is someone we will never see the likes of again,” she added.

The March 14 alliance will hold a memorial ceremony to mark Hariri’s assassination at the BIEL complex in Downtown Beirut Friday. Hariri’s son, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri will deliver a televised speech on the occasion.

Jal al-Dib seeks temporary bridge for sake of economy

JAL AL-DIB, Lebanon: With plans to construct a tunnel aimed at replacing the dismantled Jal al-Dib bridge at a grinding standstill, the town’s municipality voiced its readiness to build a temporary bridge to offer a solution and soothe mounting tensions.

The town’s Mayor Edouard Zard Abou Jaoude told The Daily Star that given the nature of the “intolerable” traffic situation, and after much deliberation, the municipality has taken the decision “to insure a temporary steel bridge in place of the old one, until a contractor is asked to begin work on the tunnel.”

The proposed bridge will be similar to the dismantled one in terms of structure and will provide both an entrance and exit lane connection to the highway, an important asset for the municipality and residents alike.

The mayor said 16 years have passed since the issue of installing proper entrances and exits for Metn roads was first discussed, Jal al-Dib in particular. “Even though many projects have been discussed between the Council of Development and Reconstruction and the municipality ... to date, no project has been finalized,” he said.

The Council of Development and Reconstruction recently proposed a scheme, titled the “L project” which would provide an entrance to Jal al-Dib from the highway coming Jounieh, directing traffic right into the town’s square.

The municipality, however, rejected the plan, arguing that it would create heavy traffic inside the square without providing an exit toward Beirut from the town.

Rebuilding another bridge, albeit temporary, is a cheaper and more effective alternative as far as implementation is concerned, and will not require changing the existing infrastructure or doing away with shops by the highway.

The municipality will submit its proposal laying out the plan for the temporary bridge to the Council of Development and Reconstruction in the coming days.

The Jal al-Dib bridge, built after the start of the Civil War in 1975, was dismantled in 2012 after many officials warned it was at severe risk of collapsing. The decision came despite the opinions of a number of engineers that the bridge was in sound condition.

The bridge was dismantled before alternative plans for it were proposed, compelling many of the town’s residents to hold weekly protests.

A group of six local engineers then drew up plans for an underpass to replace the bridge and met with the CDR, which was tasked with the responsibility of conducting technical studies to present to the Cabinet, which would then decide whether to approve the project.

Months later, the tunnel was given a greenlight from the Cabinet, but with no set deadline and no funding in place for the project, which is estimated to be somewhere in the millions, progress on the matter was stalled.

The CDR predicted it would take at least three years for the tunnel to be completed, especially as there needs to be changes made to the existing infrastructure, including electricity networks, telephone cables and water systems, as well as the shops nearby.

Meanwhile, traffic has become unbearable for residents in the neighboring areas of Antelias and Jdeideh, which is used by commuters as an alternate route to Beirut, as there is no direct exit to the highway from Jal al-Dib to the city center.

Business owners in the area, particularly in Jal al-Dib square, have become more vocal about their distress over the bridge issue, saying they are concerned they’ve lost a significant number of clients during an already fragile economic time.

“The client is avoiding the area,” said Adele Ibrahim, an employee at the retail store Sako.

“People are getting stuck in traffic for hours and have to take different routes, so they don’t pass through here anymore,” he said.

Ibrahim also said that business has hit an all-time low due to the deteriorating security situation.

Next door, Samira Sarkis Qouba gestured wildly as she asked The Daily Star to take a look inside her store, which was completely vacant.

“Look at this sight! A large store like this empty of clients,” she said.

“They have frozen our businesses, there is nothing left,” Qouba added, saying she held the government responsible.

Owner of the store, Ani Timonian, agreed with Qouba, who she said was his only employee, as she has had to fire the others to cut costs.

“Since they dismantled the bridge, the store has been empty,” she said.

Timonian, echoing the sentiments of other businessmen and residents in the area, said that a new project should have been agreed upon before the bridge was dismantled.

“Some people are sitting around getting paid, while others are dying of hunger,” she said.

At the clothing shop Cute Kay’s, Madonna Kaady and her son Fouad were busy with a client, perhaps the only one at the strip of stores by Jal al-Dib square.

Kaady gestured for her son, who ignored the call and focused all of his attention on the woman rummaging through the racks of clothing.

“No one comes here anymore, that’s for sure,” she said.

Like Timonian, Kaady said the bridge should be rebuilt, saying the one before had been stable and should not have been dismantled in the first place.

Her store has been open for five years, she said, and business had been booming. Now things were much different.

“It’s bad enough the security situation is worsening,” she said. “Now we have to deal with this.”

Police suspect businessman kidnapped in Bekaa

BEIRUT: Police suspect a businessman was kidnapped Thursday after his vehicle was found abandoned in the Bekaa Valley town of Ferzol, a security source said.

Adib al-Murr reportedly telephoned one of his employees at his plastic factory in Ferzol and told him he was being chased, the source told The Daily Star.

Murr specified his location to the employee, who immediately drove to the spot, where he found Murr’s vehicle empty and the windshield smashed.

More fake drugs seized in Bekaa Valley town

BEIRUT: More fake drugs were seized Thursday in the Bekaa Valley, east Lebanon, and security sources told The Daily Star.

Security forces and Health Ministry inspectors raided early in the morning five warehouses in the Bekaa town of Bar Elias where fake and expired medications were being kept.

The incident came after a truck full of fake drugs was seized in the town overnight and a day after a residential home and a warehouse where unlicensed medications were allegedly being manufactured were raided in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar.