LEBANON ARMED FORCES SEIZE AMMUNITION FOLLOWING HEZBOLLAH FIGHT IN CHRISTIAN TOWN

In an effort to defuse tensions, Lebanese army vehicles have been deployed in a Christian village where residents and members of the Shia militia Hezbollah engaged in a fatal shooting.

On Thursday, some ten army vehicles were positioned around Kahaleh, a day after a Hezbollah truck overturned while travelling on a tight bend on a major highway connecting Beirut to the Bekaa Valley and Syria.

Both sides have accused each other of starting Wednesday’s shootout, which killed a Hezbollah member and a Christian resident.

Watch: Deadly clashes have erupted between Hezbollah and residents of the Christian town of Kahaleh after a truck filled with weapons overturned.
 https://t.co/mW90dOBRkx pic.twitter.com/sMlVsHPPNP

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Hezbollah confirmed on Wednesday that the truck belonged to it but did not mention what it was carrying, and said that one of its members was killed in the clash.

The army was leading efforts to calm the situation, according to representatives of Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces (LF), a Christian faction that is staunchly opposed to Hezbollah and has a political presence in the Kahaleh area.

“Tensions were very high last night and they’re still high today,” said Nazih Matta, an LF lawmaker for the Aley region. “The army leadership in particular has been leading efforts to calm things down.”

“Residents aren’t scrambling to have an armed reaction to what happened – but … you start to think: How many trucks like that passed on that same road on the same day? Or the previous day? Or the week before? We’re sitting on a ticking time bomb,” Matta added.

In a statement published on social media on Thursday, the army said the truckload had been transported to a military centre and that an investigation had begun under the supervision of the authorities.

Hezbollah accused “militias” in the area of attacking the truck’s crew, sparking a firefight. According to the report, a man protecting the vehicle was injured and eventually died.

The LF’s local office accused fighters accompanying the vehicle of firing at people, resulting in the death of a local resident.