Geagea on Dahret al-Baidar Checkpoint Incident: Most Dangerous in Years, State Must Take Firm Stance

Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces party, considered the incident at the Dahret al-Baidar checkpoint, at the junction between Bekaa and Beirut, where two Hezbollah members were arrested with hundreds of kilograms of explosives in their car, as "the most dangerous in years."

In an interview with "L'Orient-Le Jour" newspaper, Geagea indicated that this incident requires the state to take a firm stance to complete the process of monopolizing weapons.

Geagea began his remarks by saying: "It is not just a serious incident, but the most dangerous incident in years, especially since among the seized explosive materials is C4, which is usually used in assassination operations."

He added: "There is another indicator that must be taken into account, namely that the shipment was heading from Bekaa to Beirut. If the goal was truly to use these weapons against Israel, the car could have taken another route to reach southern Lebanon."

He continued: "All these data lead me to say that these weapons were likely prepared for use inside Lebanon."

The Dahret al-Baidar case comes at a time when seizures of weapons shipments carried out by the Lebanese Army are increasing.

In this context, Geagea warned: "The military institution announced about two weeks ago the seizure of 250 kilograms of explosives. Therefore, if the Dahret al-Baidar file is closed with only two arrests, it will be a real scandal."

The head of the Lebanese Forces, who leads the camp opposing Hezbollah, stressed that "arrests should not be limited to the driver and his companion, but investigations must continue until the entire chain of command is dismantled, even if it includes Hezbollah Secretary-General Na'im Qasim."

He firmly affirmed: "This time we will not accept that the case ends with the arrest of two minor perpetrators."

Amidst the Lebanese Forces' participation in the government with four ministers and holding the largest parliamentary bloc, Geagea criticizes the current authority's slowness in completing the process of disarming Hezbollah.

In response to a question about the message he sends to the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister following this incident, he said: "What happened shows how dangerous inaction is."

He called for "purging state institutions of elements close to Hezbollah," considering that they "cannot confront the militia."

These statements reflect the head of the Lebanese Forces' concern not to cut all communication bridges with the duo, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, while Energy Minister Joe Sadiq boycotts cabinet sessions due to the crisis facing the electricity sector.

In this framework, Geagea acknowledged: "We must act against weapons, but we care not to 'shake' the sovereign camp."

In another context, the head of the Lebanese Forces condemned, via his account on the "X" platform, the attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whose main Lebanese ally he considers.

He asked indignantly: "Who would have believed that the Kingdom is being targeted by fire today?"

Geagea reminded that Riyadh "helped Arab countries," considering them "symbolic allies of the Lebanese."