BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities are investigating the killing of a retired customs officer in what a leading politician described as a “terrible incident.”
Col. Munir Abu Rjeili was found dead in his home on Wednesday in Qartaba, some 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Beirut, with a blow to the head, a security source said.
Leading Druze politician Walid Jumblatt asked on Twitter on Thursday what was behind the killing. He questioned whether there was a link with the Aug. 4 explosion at Beirut port that killed about 200 people and devastated swathes of the capital.
“Is this terrible incident to obstruct any serious investigation into the case of the explosion at Beirut port?” Jumblatt wrote.
But a senior interior ministry source said: “So far, no link has been found between the port and the murder.”
Abu Rjeili’s career in Lebanese customs included leading a Beirut division that counters overland smuggling, serving at the airport and heading a division of the Higher Customs Council, according to CV sent by a relative and lawyer, Joseph Khalil.
Abu Rjeili had not been summoned for questioning in the investigation in to the Beirut blast probe and had not served at the port, the source said.
Khalil, the lawyer, said the family was waiting for the results of the investigation.
Four months since the explosion, Lebanese are still awaiting the final results of the investigation, after authorities promised a full and swift probe.
President Michel Aoun last month called for the acceleration of the investigation.
The first warning about the cargo that blew up in Beirut port came in 2014 from another late Lebanese customs officer, Col. Joseph Skaf. Skaf’s family believe his death in 2017 was murder, possibly connected to his long career as a customs officer fighting criminality and drug smuggling.
Lebanon investigates death of former customs official
https://arab.news/np7pj
Lebanon investigates death of former customs official
- Col. Munir Abu Rjeili was found dead, in his home in Qartaba, some 40 km northeast of Beirut, from a blow to the head
- Leading Druze politician Walid Jumblatt questioned whether there was a link with the Aug. 4 explosion at Beirut port
Arab coalition warns against military moves undermining de-escalation in Yemen
DUBAI: The Arab coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government warned on Saturday that any military movements undermining de-escalation efforts would be dealt with immediately to protect civilians, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The coalition’s spokesperson, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said the warning follows a request from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council to take urgent measures to protect civilians in Hadramout Governorate amid what he described as serious humanitarian violations by groups affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council.
The statement said the measures are part of ongoing joint Saudi-Emirati efforts to reduce tensions, facilitate the withdrawal of forces, hand over military camps, and enable local authorities to carry out their duties.
Al-Maliki reaffirmed the coalition’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government and called on all parties to exercise restraint and engage in peaceful solutions, the agency reported.
The STC has pushed the internationally recognised government from its headquarters in Aden while claiming broad control across the south this month.
Saudi Arabia has called STC forces to withdraw from areas it seized earlier in December in the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra.
