What lies behind the five Hezbollah-linked arrests in North Lebanon?

Source: Nida Al Watan

The arrest of five individuals suspected of links to Hezbollah in the mountainous area bordering the Bcharre and Batroun districts was not an ordinary security incident. Information that gradually emerged about the circumstances of their arrest and the contents of the vehicle they were travelling in opened a security investigation extending beyond the presence of a group in a remote area. The seized documents reportedly contained plans, movement routes, group deployments and requests for weapons, primarily targeting districts in Christian-majority areas of northern Lebanon.

The arrests coincided with activity at an apartment where the group had been staying in northern Lebanon. Communication devices, documents and maps were reportedly seized, while other individuals believed to have been responsible for facilitating the group's movements and maintaining contact with its members disappeared. Meanwhile, monitoring sources told Nidaa Al Watan that Hezbollah had been surveying mountain roads in northern Lebanon through reconnaissance operations, seeking routes away from security forces to serve as alternative channels for smuggling explosives and prohibited goods.

Torn documents reveal planned routes

According to information obtained by Nidaa Al Watan, the five individuals were travelling in a Honda CR-V four-wheel-drive vehicle when they encountered a patrol from the Internal Security Forces' Bcharre station in a mountainous area bordering the Tannourine highlands.

The occupants attempted to flee upon spotting the patrol. They reportedly tore up documents in their possession and hid the pieces inside the vehicle's upholstery. However, patrol officers managed to arrest them and recover the papers, which became a central element of the investigation.

Notably, according to the available information, none of the five individuals was carrying a mobile phone. Their identity documents showed that they came from different parts of Lebanon, including Bint Jbeil, Tyre, Khiam and the Bekaa, as well as one individual from the predominantly Shiite town of Zgharta in the Koura district.

They were handed over to the Internal Security Forces' Information Branch, which launched an investigation into their presence in the area, the nature of their movements and the contents of the seized documents.

The investigation revealed that the recovered fragments contained references to a "Rashkida Plan" and a "Koura Plan", alongside numbered routes, including the seventh, eighth and ninth, and the distribution of groups under the designations "Platoon 1", "Platoon 2" and "Platoon 3".

The documents also included names of individuals, requests for support and weapons, including sniper rifles and other firearms, as well as information about platoons and photographs. They also outlined the assignment of tasks to two groups of four people each, one designated for Tripoli and the other for Koura.

However, the destruction of the documents prevented investigators from establishing a complete picture of their contents. Reassembling the fragments and analysing the names, routes and locations mentioned in them therefore became central tasks in the investigation.

According to the information, the five suspects were identified by their initials as follows: H.D., H.F., M.R., Q.A. and M.A.

An apartment in Bnahran and the disappearance of evidence

In a parallel development, security sources revealed that Hezbollah moved immediately after learning of the five arrests. According to the sources, individuals affiliated with the party went to the village of Bnahran and entered the apartment from which the group had operated in northern Lebanon, seizing communication devices found inside.

The sources added that other individuals tasked with facilitating the group's movements and maintaining direct contact with its members left the premises hurriedly after the arrests, taking communication devices, documents and maps with them.

Security agencies began tracing the individuals who had left the apartment to establish their roles and determine whether the seized materials were connected to organised movements in northern Lebanon. The identity of the party that issued the orders and the nature of the materials removed remain subject to the investigation's findings.

Confusion or an organised plan?

Commenting on the security implications, a source following the case told Nidaa Al Watan that increasing pressure on Hezbollah, alongside any serious decision to place all weapons under state control, could prompt the party, in the source's assessment, to attempt to create confusion and destabilise the security situation.

The source explained that linking these developments to other security incidents recently witnessed in Lebanon, should investigations establish an actual connection, could strengthen the possibility of organised movements aimed at undermining stability. The source nevertheless stressed the importance of not anticipating the investigation's findings or asserting that such links exist before they are established.

The source also emphasised the importance of proactive security operations, the cross-referencing and analysis of intelligence, and closing intelligence gaps, particularly as some movements may be discovered by chance while others remain undetected.

A possible repeat of the 2007 "Black Tuesday"?

According to security information obtained by Nidaa Al Watan, the cell intercepted between the Tannourine and Bcharre highlands had been under intensive surveillance, although sufficient evidence had not been available, given the extreme secrecy surrounding the movements of Hezbollah-affiliated individuals.

The information also indicates that the "Rashkida Group", named after the Shiite village near the Batroun coast, enjoyed the backing of Hezbollah and its Christian allies within the March 8 Alliance.

A former Christian minister from northern Lebanon is reportedly said to have recounted that a figure holding a leadership position in Rashkida had taken him to weapons warehouses in the village, which allegedly contained a substantial arsenal.

Sources did not rule out the possibility that the plan could eventually have aimed to repeat the 2007 "Black Tuesday" scenario, but in a more violent form.

On January 23, 2007, Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Marada Movement coordinated to block several roads in Beirut and Batroun. Clashes broke out at Beirut Arab University and along the Batroun highway, leaving several people dead and more than 150 injured.

Sources added that the objective of the "Rashkida Group", given its proximity to the coast, was to gain control of the coastal highway under certain circumstances, while the "Koura Group" could target the Cedars highway.

Hezbollah's movements in Christian-majority areas of northern Lebanon have reportedly intensified. Residents of some villages have reported seeing young men from the predominantly Shiite town of Zgharta organising armed marches through wooded areas, extending as far as Bnahran in Koura.

Yesterday, the Information Branch carried out a series of raids in Bnahran, the village of Behboush and other locations. It also seized surveillance cameras in Behboush to examine their recordings.

Meanwhile, the fate of the weapons warehouses in Rashkida remains unknown, despite security agencies being aware of their existence. Concerns persist over the danger they may pose to residents of the village and surrounding areas.

Rashkida municipality denies allegations

Nidaa Al Watan learned that the Information Branch is handling the case with utmost seriousness and professionalism, collecting evidence, analysing information and cross-referencing findings to establish the movements of the arrested individuals and uncover the circumstances surrounding the case.

The investigation has included examining the vehicle and the location where it was found, analysing the seized materials and expanding inquiries into individuals connected to the group.

For its part, the Rashkida Municipality in the Batroun district issued a statement clarifying that neither the village nor its residents had any connection to the incident being reported in the media. It condemned the inclusion of the village's name in reports that, it said, were not based on accurate and verified information.

Pending the findings of the Information Branch, only facts established through judicial proceedings can serve as the basis for determining responsibility. Information concerning the documents and the movements that followed the arrests must also be verified before being linked to any potential security plot.

Between what was seized from the vehicle and what disappeared from the apartment, establishing the full sequence of movements involving the arrested individuals and those connected to them has become a security and judicial necessity in a case that directly affects the safety of northern Lebanon's communities and public confidence in the state's ability to protect stability and civil peace.