A man killed his 13-year-old sister in the suburbs of Tripoli, Lebanon, prompting their father to shoot his son dead on the spot. Lebanon was shaken by this family crime that took place in the "Mankoubin" area of Tripoli, resulting in the deaths of two siblings. News of the crime quickly spread, igniting social media platforms in Lebanon with denunciations and expressions of fear of the unknown amidst a widespread proliferation of weapons among a large segment of the population and the rampant drug crisis amid a severe economic downturn.
According to Sky News Arabia, details of the crime were revealed by a witness who stated: "A man named Muhammad Abdel-Nasser Ibrahim (30 years old) shot his 13-year-old sister while he was in a state of drunkenness and addiction, leading to her immediate death." The witness continued: "In shock, their father, a retired soldier from the Lebanese army, shot his son the perpetrator, killing him immediately."
The family is Lebanese from the town of Fneidq in Akkar (north) and consists of eight members living in the Mankoubin area where the crime occurred. It was clarified that "the father's brother is a mosque imam in the area, but the son, both the perpetrator and the victim, had been using drugs." The young man had constant conflicts with his family and was under the influence of drugs when he shot his younger sister.
Later, the bodies of the two victims were transferred to the Tripoli Government Hospital amid heavy security in the surrounding area. Residents of the area, according to Sky News, complained about the absence of state authority and the prevailing security chaos. One of the sheikhs stated: "We have fallen into the forbidden as a brother kills his brother, due to the lack of punishment for criminals and drug dealers."
Residents of the Mankoubin area called on officials to combat the drug phenomenon that is spreading among a large segment of youth, which they believe was the primary cause of this unusual crime in the area.
Currently, there are no precise statistics about the spread of drug phenomena in Lebanese society in recent years. Previous studies before the COVID-19 crisis indicated that the most commonly used drugs in the country are hashish, cocaine, and opium. The Central Anti-Drug Office previously reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people are arrested annually for drug-related issues but are released on bail, with a similar number detained by judicial order, most of whom are aged between 20 and 30.
The first national report on the drug situation, prepared by the National Drug Observatory and published in 2017, indicated that between 2013 and 2016, more than 11,000 people were arrested for drug use, with 2016 alone witnessing a alarming 233 percent increase in arrests for individuals under 18 years old. The most commonly used drugs were Captagon, cocaine, and cannabis.
