Army Arrests Two SSNP Members
Lebanese Troops on Tuesday arrested a member of the Syrian Social National Party who had threatened a checkpoint in Beirut with a side weapon, witnesses reported.
Witnesses said the SSNP fighter pulled a gun at the army checkpoint in the plush Raouche district and took refuge at the adjacent SSNP office.
Army troops besieged the area and the SSNP turned over the wanted member to an army patrol, the witnesses added.
A reliable source identified the suspect as Atef Awdeh.
Tension has been high between the army and the SSNP since the regular force arrested two members of the party accused of attacking news reporter Omar Harqous and seriously wounding him last week.
Reports said the army, early in the day, also arrested Mohammed Ali Awdeh, a third SSNP member accused of attacking Harqous.
It could not be established if the two Awdehs are related.