The Lebanese army issued on Saturday a statement clarifying the incident that occurred on July 1.
The statement reads as follows:
"Following the tragic incident that occurred on July 1, 2023, in the area of Qornat al-Sawda between citizens from the towns of Bcharri and Bekaa Seffrine, which resulted in the death of the young man Haitham Tawk, army units intervened to implement security measures. Shortly after, they came under gunfire, responded in kind, and arrested several individuals. At that time, it was discovered that citizen Malek Romanos was injured, and he later passed away due to his injuries."
The statement indicated that as a result, and based on the directive of the Public Prosecution Office, the Directorate of Military Intelligence immediately initiated an investigation and arrested several main suspects.
Therefore, after completing the investigations, and based on the directive of the Public Prosecution Office, several detainees were remanded in custody for further investigation, and 11 detainees were referred to the competent judiciary.