Beirut Municipality Removes Long-Standing Encroachments in Shatila and Surrounding Areas

Beirut Municipality’s Public Relations Department announced in a statement that, acting on directives from Beirut Governor Judge Marwan Abboud, the municipality’s Traffic Department carried out a field campaign in the Shatila district and its surrounding areas within Beirut Municipality’s jurisdiction. The operation targeted violations and encroachments on public property—particularly those linked to several cafes, commercial establishments, and long-standing unauthorized occupancies.

Security coordination and phased execution

The campaign proceeded with support from the Army’s Intelligence Directorate, the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces, and the Beirut City Guard Regiment. It unfolded in two phases. Prior to official intervention, some violators dismantled part of their encroachments voluntarily. Thereafter, Traffic Department teams advanced to implement Phase One, removing the remaining illegal occupancies and violations—restoring the affected public spaces to their primary function and ensuring freedom of movement for citizens.

Legal framework and municipal policy

This action forms part of an ongoing field strategy adopted by the Beirut Governorate to halt the persistence of violations that, over time, have hardened into de facto realities in certain neighborhoods. The Governorate emphasized that public property cannot be subject to investment or occupation outside legally defined frameworks.

Expansion across the capital

The Beirut Governorate affirmed that field operations will continue under a phased plan covering all districts of the capital. Priority will be given to chronic encroachments and locations where unauthorized occupancies directly impede traffic flow, pedestrian movement, and the regular functioning of daily life—carried out in coordination with the competent security and military authorities.