The joy of a wedding in Baalbeck’s Younin quickly turned to misery after a deadly fight broke out over the weekend, killing three people and wounding at least four others, including the bride’s mother.
A gunfight erupted in the early hours of Sunday during a wedding joining the Amhaz and Nemr families, and later escalated into a gunfight that killed three people, including two brothers, local media reported.
Those who died were identified as Taleb Zeaiter, wedding singer Ali Yassine and his brother Abbas.
Younin’s former Deputy Mayor Hussein Haidar said that as of 9 p.m. Sunday evening, the bride’s mother “was in a critical condition.”
Haidar said that the shootout left three others wounded, but added that one of the wounded would be discharged Monday.
“The situation is bad,” he said, adding that the Lebanese Army had been deployed in the area to contain the situation.
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The brawl started between a guest and the wedding singer, reportedly over a folk song.
The song included compliments to the families when the singer told one of the attendees, “This is not for you.” The brawl between the singer and the attendees then escalated, resulting in the shooting.
Afterward, mortar bombs were reportedly fired in Baalbeck’s Sharawneh area, with television images showed at least three cars on fire. The Army said in a statement Sunday afternoon that a soldier was wounded when a group shot at an Army patrol.
The wounded soldier was transferred to a nearby hospital.
Baalbeck-Hermel Gov. Bashir Khodr said in a statement that he regretted Sunday’s events in Baalbeck and hoped that such incidents didn’t occur again.
“The security agencies are doing everything they can to enforce security and stability so that the area can be restored to its touristic and cultural role,” Khodr said. “When such events happen, they take us light years backward.”
He also called on important figures in the area to join ranks in opposing violence, which he said would only benefit those hoping to harm Lebanon.
Baalbeck residents have long protested against lax security situation in the area, where reports of theft and gunfire are not uncommon.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
