Today, Tuesday, the Lebanese government assigned the army to investigate the circumstances of the sinking of a boat carrying irregular migrants while the navy tried to arrest it a few days ago, in an incident that killed 6 people, while others – it was not clear exactly how many – are still missing.
This came during an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers held at the Baabda Presidential Palace to discuss the sinking of the boat and the security situation in the country, in the presence of Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the ministers, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, Intelligence Director Brigadier General Antoine Kahwaji, and Commander of the Naval Forces Colonel Haitham Dannawi, according to the statement. A statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic.
President Michel Aoun, who began the session by standing a minute of silence for the lives of the victims of the boat, stressed “the necessity of addressing what happened from various aspects, and the judiciary investigating the circumstances of the sinking of the boat amid conflicting accounts, with the aim of clarifying the truth and putting an end to any jurisprudence or interpretations.” contradictory.”
The President of the Republic described “other security incidents in Tripoli and Beirut and the attack on Energy Minister Walid Fayyad as unacceptable and unjustified,” calling for “taking the necessary measures to prevent their recurrence.”
Circumstances and ambiguity
And three weeks before the upcoming parliamentary elections in mid-May, the migration boat set off last Saturday evening from southern Tripoli (north), the poorest Lebanese city, which in recent years has turned into a launching pad for irregular migration boats at sea, before the navy pursued it in The army drowns while trying to arrest him.
The circumstances of the accident are not yet clear. While survivors accused members of the navy of insulting them and deliberately sinking the boat while trying to arrest it, the army said that the captain of the boat carried out “escape maneuvers … in a way that led to it colliding” with an army boat.
After the end of the session, Information Minister Ziad Makari announced that the government decided to “request the army command to conduct a transparent investigation into the circumstances and circumstances of the accident, under the supervision of the competent judiciary,” explaining that the military judiciary will undertake the investigation.
Searches are still underway for missing people, following the army brought 48 people back to the beach and recovered 6 bodies.
Information and conflict
While information is conflicting regarding the number of passengers on the boat, the majority of whom are Lebanese, including Palestinian and Syrian refugees, the United Nations spoke regarding at least 84 people, women, men and children.
The government assigned the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense to communicate with countries and relevant authorities to help “float the sunken boat.”
Tripoli Port Director Ahmed Tamer said that families indicated that at least 23 women and children are still missing, including 7 Syrians and two Palestinians.
In light of the deteriorating economic and living conditions, the number of migrants trying to flee by sea has doubled, and their destination is often Cyprus, the European country located off the Lebanese coast.
It began with Palestinian and Syrian refugees who did not hesitate to take this dangerous journey, before the Lebanese took the same route.
Since 2020, according to the United Nations, 38 boats carrying more than 1,500 people have tried to flee by sea from Lebanon, and more than 75% of them have been intercepted or returned.
