Bekaa’s Mufti Censured Attempts to Block Lebanese-Syrian Road

Mona Theine

Al-Masnaa road, connecting Lebanon to Syria, was supposed to be blocked after parties in the Bekaa threatened escalation last Sunday unless the fate of Sheikh Arfan Rida al-Maarabouni was revealed.

What obstructed this escalation?

According al-Ahed news sources, "Threatening to intensify matters affected al-Bekaa's Mufti, Sheikh Khalil al-Meis, who in turn called on Bekaa's Sheikhs to a meeting, and was clear regarding the facts of Sheikh al-Maarabouni's disappearance.
Al-Meis pointed out that the circumstances of the Sheikh's disappearance have become clear to everyone. "He entered Syria through an illegal route and coordinated with whoever facilitated his entry. Therefore, matters must not escalate in the Bekaa and roads must not be blocked upon an incident based on something illegal."

This firm message had its strong effect on religious figures in the Bekaa, and most people in the area refused neither to intensify matters nor to exploit the incident for security escalation, knowing especially that al-Maarabouni was not kidnapped in Lebanese territories.

Moreover, last Sunday's movement was timid; around 50 people gathered and tried to block the road by burning tires, but the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces prevented them from doing so.
On this note, a high-ranked security source expressed to al-Ahed his "relief that no tension was caused in the area thanks to the people's awareness of the truth of al-Maarabouni's story."

On the other hand, he pointed out that "smuggling al-Maarabouni through an illegal route and his disappearance in Syria sheds light on the disaster of illegal routes, in which people and arms are being smuggled from Lebanon to Syria."
Finally, the source wondered "what would have happened if the people were not aware of the truth and if the Mufti of the Bekaa had not acted wisely to prevent matters from slipping away?"

Source: al-Ahed News, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org