Four citizens ambushed in the Lebanese region of Wadi Rafeq

  
Four citizens were shot dead on Sunday in the region of Wadi Rafeq which is located between the bordering outskirts of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbeck.    
                      
The citizens were identified as Ali Karameh Jaafar, Mohammad Ali Ahmad Jaafar, Hassan Shireif Amhaz, and another citizen from Al-Oglu.  
                                        
Following the incident, residents cut off roads between Al-Labweh region and Tal el-Abyad amidst the deployment of armed men in the region.                        

In details, sources told LBCI that unknown assailants ambushed and killed the 4 citizens in the Wadi Rafeq region.                                         

However, it was not immediately clear how they were killed or what the motive was.                         

This as, the state-run news agency reported that Al-Labweh residents erected a checkpoint on the Al-Labweh-Arsal road, while other citizens erected another checkpoint in the Tal el-Abyad region and mentioned that Lebanese Armed Forces are working to remove them.                       

Shortly after the incident, the Arsal residents issued a statement whereby they denounced the death of the 4 citizens and considered it as “a means to provoke strife”.        

This as the Lebanese Armed Forces Command indicated in a communiqué that tension prevailed in a number of Baalbeck-Hermel towns and mentioned that armed manifestations were witnessed in these towns.         

The army communiqué added that LAF units immediately carried patrols and erected checkpoints in the region, in a bid to restore calm.           

Furthermore, the Army Command urged all citizens and families to practice self-control and patience in light of the current delicate circumstances; stressing that “such incidents should not target national unity and coexistence among citizens”.       

Sectarian tension between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon is high, and the situation has worsened after Hezbollah's intervention in the Syrian crisis alongside regime troops.                  

Most Sunnis in Lebanon support the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to oust Assad.