Bassil calls for the arrest of Beirut Water Authority assailants

Energy Minister Gibran Bassil called on security and judicial authorities to take the necessary measures to arrest those who assaulted the director general of the Water Authority of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Joseph Nseir, in Achrafieh in broad daylight. Bassil stressed that the identity of these assailants is well-known and that witnesses are numerous, adding that the case requires investigations and not legal complaints.        

“We must act immediately to protect what remains of the ‘symbolic prestige’ of public institutions and correlating directors”, he said.      

Bassil stressed that Nseir is not responsible for the water cuts in Achrafieh, adding that electricity outages and the inability to repair malfunctions due to the troubled situation at the EDL are all factors that caused these cuts.        

Bassil said that all the director general wanted was to follow up on this issue on the ground in order to fulfill the needs of Achrafieh residents, adding that citizens should thank him, instead of attacking him.
     
Earlier in the day, Beirut parliamentarians pointed the finger of blame solely towards Head of the Change and Reform Bloc MP Michel Aoun, alongside Bassil for the water and energy cuts the Achriafieh neighborhood is currently experiencing. The MPs added that “no official should use his authority for [his own] personal interests”.