REPORT: Residents of Al-Naameh call on officials to respect their demand and close the landfill

Residents of Al-Naameh and other surrounding villages considered that threats of keeping wastes in the streets will not force them to refrain from their initial demand which is the closure of Al-Naameh landfill.                 

The residents said in a press conference on Sunday that their sit in is peaceful and comprehensive, calling on security apparatuses and Lebanese officials to respect their demand and close the landfill.     

Later in the day, the issue was tackled in a meeting held between the Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam and the committee tasked with following up on the issue of al-Naameh landfill.  

In this context, Salam stressed that he will form an emergency body in charge of dealing with this issue, as soon as he obtains the executive power.   

This as an agreement was reached in order to reopen al-Naameh road for 48 hours in order to facilitate Salam’s efforts to reach a solution for the crisis.

On Saturday the residents along with environmental activists launched an open sit-in to protest a recent decision that extends the contract of Sukleen to manage the said landfill.         

The Al-Naameh landfill was created in 1997 following the closure of the Normandy seafront dump in Beirut, and was initially supposed to operate for six years. 


For more details, watch Dalal Mawad's full report in the video above