Angry Lebanese detain Hezbollah MP in Lebanon over deteriorating living conditions

Beirut-

A group of angry Lebanese citizens have reportedly detained Hezbollah official and Parliamentarian Hussein Hajj Hassan while attending a Shiite event in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon Friday evening.

Local media reported news of his detention by citizens angered by the deteriorating situation in Lebanon, adding that he departed the site amid heavy army deployment. 

Video footage of what happened in the village of Ali El-Nahri, which lies 66 kilometers east of Beirut, purportedly shows the time of his detention.

Eyewitnesses quoted by local media said that some crowds hurled accusations at the MP related to power outages and the deterioration of living conditions.

Hassan later stated that he was marking the Shiite occasion of Ashura, and that he gave a speech in commemoration of the event, denying he faced any form of detention. 

“Lies, slander and untrue; nothing happened,” he told news website Lebanon 24. 
Moreover, a village resident who was present during Friday’s incident faced arrest today by an unknown party. 
Hassan Makkhal shared his arrest from his home on Facebook. Makkhal is said to be a critic of the Hezbollah official.  

Hezbollah ‘s MP Anwar Jumaa

In a related development another Hezbollah MP’s residence in the village of Ali El-Nahri was attacked by angry citizens .

A group of young men attempted to break into MP Anwar Jumaa ‘s house . He was not there but his family was reportedly insulted by the angry citizens .

Following this incident and the earlier one against Hussi=ein Hajj Hassan Army intelligence raided houses in Ali al-Nahri and al-Fikani neighborhood and made many arrests

Former Hezbollah chief Sheikh Sobhi el Tufaili accuses Hezbollah of robbing the country

This is the first time Hezbollah officials are being challenged in their own strongholds

Lebanese analysts have reported that as “Hezbollah has been accumulating and projecting power, it has simultaneously increased discontent among its opponents and supporters and positioned itself as a threat to others,”

Such incidents show that Hezbollah is not as invincible as it once seemed, and that it can be intimidated.

Angry protests over corruption by the country’s entrenched political elites now feature more public condemnation of Hezbollah, accusing the militia and political party with lawmakers in parliament, of selling out their country to Iran.   

Arab News