[NAHARNET] The army on Friday announced that it has so far arrested 86 people who were involved in firing weapons in the air in connection with the municipal and mayoral elections, while also seizing arms and ammunition.In a statement, the army vowed that it will not be lenient in pursuing and arresting anyone involved in illegal shootings, warning that the practice puts the lives of others in danger.
''The deployed military units have started taking exceptional security measures on the occasion of the third round of municipal and mayoral elections that will be held Sunday in the Beirut, Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates, including sudden checkpoints and patrols, in coordination with the other security agencies,'' the army added.
Parliament on Thursday approved an urgent draft law doubling the penalty of illegal shooting into the air. The development came days after dozens of people were arrested for firing into the air during the country's municipal elections.
Celebratory gunfire that erupted Sunday in the wake of north Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....'s municipal elections had maimed several people, including LBCI news hound Nada Andraous, and a child who was critically maimed.
Whether it's joy, political passion or grief, for many Lebanese, there's only one way to show it: by lifting a gun and firing off rounds into the air.