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Agence France-Presse

Police in Lebanon on Saturday hunted for 44 fugitive prisoners who escaped from a detention centre on the outskirts of Beirut, calling on local residents to be on alert.
Despite tight security, 69 people broke out of a detention facility 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 as they rushed away and crashed into a tree. One other person was taken to hospital.
By early afternoon on Saturday, 15 had been recaptured, and another four had handed themselves back in, leaving 44 on the run.

“A manhunt is … under way to arrest the remaining fugitive prisoners,” police said in a statement.
Local authorities called on residents to be on alert, with large numbers of security forces deployed searching the area.
Prosecutor Ghada Aoun has ordered an immediate investigation in the breakout.
Aoun said she did not rule out the possibility of “collusion between the detainees and security guards tasked with protecting their cells.”
Judge Fadi Akiki, a government representative at the military court, held a meeting with security officials after inspecting the detention facility and site of the car crash.

Relatives of the inmates gathered outside the detention centre, located in Baabda’s Justice Palace, where some were awaiting trial.
Some asked about the fate of their relatives, while others handed their sons back into custody.
They include Joumana Berjawi, whose 22-year-old son escaped after being held for six months on charges of attempted murder – a charge she denies.
“My son was among the escapees, but I brought him back and handed him over to the state,” Berjawi said.
The jailbreak comes as detainees across Lebanon have called on parliament to approve a draft general amnesty law, that would see thousands of them freed from coronavirus-hit prisons.
Lebanon has recorded over 113,000 Covid-19 cases including 884 deaths since the outbreak began in February.
The country is currently under lockdown until the end of the month to stem an uptick in infections.


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Middle East

Five prisoners killed in car crash after mass jailbreak in Lebanon

Police inspect the damaged car in Hadath, Lebanon. Photo: Reuters

Relatives of fugitive prisoners who had fled a detention centre gather outside the facility in Baabda, east of Lebanon's capital Beirut, on November 21, 2020, to enquire about their fate after it was announced that some were recaptured while others had died in the escape. - At least 69 people fled a detention centre in Lebanon on November 21, including five who later died in a car accident on a nearby road, sparking a wide-reaching manhunt, police said. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Policemen stand guard outside a detention centre from which prisoners had fled earlier in Baabda, east of Lebanon's capital Beirut, on November 21, 2020. - At least 69 people fled a detention centre in Lebanon on November 21, including five who later died in a car accident on a nearby road, sparking a wide-reaching manhunt, police said. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

‘Kafala slavery’: why Lebanon has a poor reputation among foreign domestic workers

Migrant domestic workers protest in the Lebanese capital Beirut, to call for the abolishment of the sponsorship (kafala) system. File photo: AFP

Kenyan women, employed in Lebanon as domestic workers, gather next to the Kenyan consulate in the capital Beirut on August 20, 2020, as they demand to be repatriated back to their country. - Thousands of foreign workers were already stranded in Lebanon, after months of dollar shortages and then the coronavirus pandemic. Then came the blast in Beirut's port that killed more than 181 people, wounded thousands and devastated swathes of the city. Many say it was just one disaster too many, and now they need to leave. Foreign workers enter Lebanon under a controversial sponsorship system called "kafala", which has been repeatedly denounced by rights groups as enabling a wide range of abuses. Under kafala, a worker cannot terminate their contract without the permission of their employer or they will lose their legal immigration status. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Shots, tear gas and flames in Beirut as thousands protest over Lebanon’s handling of blast

A demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag as another hurls stones during a protest following Tuesday's blast in Beirut, Lebanon on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

An aerial view taken on August 7, 2020, shows a partial view of the Lebanese capital Beirut and the port that was destroyed three days earlier when a huge pile of ammonium nitrate that had languished for years in a warehouse exploded, leaving scores of people dead or injured and causing devastation in the Lebanese capital. (Photo by - / AFP)

A demonstrator gestures during a protest near the parliament building following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Demonstrators throw stones during a protest as they try to break through a barrier to get to the parliament building following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Police deploy during a protest against the political elites and the government after this week's deadly explosion at Beirut port which devastated large parts of the capital and killed more than 150 people, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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69 people fled a detention centre near Beirut, including five who later died in an accident after a car they hijacked swerved into a tree
15 had been recaptured, and another four had handed themselves back in, as officials called on residents to be on alert



69 people fled a detention centre near Beirut, including five who later died in an accident after a car they hijacked swerved into a tree.


Crime