Lebanon to set surveillance cameras in Beirut to help control security

The Lebanese government decided on Thursday to set surveillance cameras in Beirut as a new security measure, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said.

"The objective is to use all means to control the security situation," Aridi told reporters after a cabinet meeting, adding that the cameras are all linked to land telephone lines across Beirut.

Aridi did not specify when the cameras will be installed, but he said "all regions of the Greater Beirut", including the southern suburbs, will be covered by the security camera plan.

Beirut's southern suburbs -- a main Hezbollah stronghold -- were particularly targeted during the July-August Israeli offensive that destroyed buildings, roads, bridges and communications installations across Lebanon.

On Sunday, six civilians were slightly wounded when rockets hit a building next to the UN office and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's offices in downtown Beirut.

It was the third security breach in Beirut in the past 10 days, after two bombs were thrown at two police stations, causing minor damage but no injuries.

Source: Xinhua