Locusts Invade Arsal Town as Lebanese Army Responds

Large swarms of locusts have reached the town of Arsal in the Bekaa Governorate of Lebanon. Activists circulated a video on social media showing large swarms of locusts attacking vast agricultural areas in Arsal. Member of the "Future" Bloc, MP Bakr Hajiri, called on the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture to take swift action to combat the locusts that have arrived in Arsal. Hajiri warned of the danger posed by the locusts to farmers' crops in the town, urging relevant authorities to "combat the threat of this pest before it spreads to neighboring villages and across the country." This morning, the Army Command announced via its Twitter account that "as part of efforts to combat locust swarms and limit their spread, Lebanese army helicopters, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, have begun spraying insecticides in the areas of Baalbek and Ras Baalbek."