Weltnachrichten – AU – 5 refugees die in a car accident while fleeing from a mass jailbreak in Lebanon

BEIRUT – Police in Lebanon on Saturday searched for 44 fugitive prisoners who fled an internment camp on the outskirts of Beirut and reported to residents on alert.

Despite tight security, 69 people broke out of a detention center near the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, a police statement said.

Five were killed in a car accident when they lost control of the stolen vehicle when they stormed off and hit a tree. Another person was taken to the hospital.

Receive the Daily Edition of The Times of Israel by email and never miss our top stories

Free registration

By early Saturday afternoon, 15 had been retaken and another four had surrendered, leaving 44 on the run.

Local authorities asked residents to be on alert and large numbers of security guards raided the area.

In an interview with AFP, she said that she did not rule out the possibility of « an agreement between the inmates and the security officers who are tasked with protecting their cells. ”

Judge Fadi Akiki, a government official at the Military Tribunal, held a meeting with security officials after inspecting the detention center and the site of the car accident.

Relatives of the inmates gathered in front of the detention center in the Justice Palace of Baabda, where some were waiting for the trial.

Some asked about the fate of their relatives, while others took their sons back into custody, according to an AFP photographer.

This includes Joumana Berjawi, whose 22-year-old son escaped after six months in prison for attempted murder – a charge she denies.

« My son was among the refugees, but I brought him back and handed him over to the state, » Berjawi told AFP.

The jailbreak comes as detainees across Lebanon called on parliament to pass a draft general amnesty law aimed at freeing thousands of them from coronavirus-affected prisons.

Lebanon has had over 113 since the outbreak began in February. 000 registered COVID-19 cases including 884 deaths.

The country is currently on lockdown until the end of the month to contain a surge in infections.

Does the time of Israel give you valuable insights into Israel and the Jewish world? If so, please join the Times of Israel Community. For just $ 6 a month, you can get:

We are very pleased that you read articles in the X Times of Israel last month.

That’s why we come to work every day to provide indispensable coverage of Israel and the Jewish world for discerning readers like you.

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t set up a paywall. Since the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers who The Times of Israel has become important to to support our work by joining the Times of Israel Community.

For just $ 6 a month, you can support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE and accessing exclusive content only available to members of the Times of Israel community.

Lebanon, prisoner, escape from prison