Some 21 gunmen killed, 49 arrested in Lebanon's Dinnieh incidents

Amid an atmosphere of sadness and caution, villages in Lebanon's al-Dinnieh district are gradually restoring their normal life after the completion of the military mopping-up operations.

The Lebanese Army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Samir al-Qadi, on Wednesday made an inspection tour of the northern Lebanon area that covered the leadership of the military zone in Tripoli, the leadership of contingent no 10 in Kafer Shahna and the army centers in al-Dinnieh. He also met with several army officers and military men and visited the wounded army soldiers in hospitals.

Meanwhile, Army members continued searching for possible bodies of the dead gunmen among the ruins while other army units were chasing other gunmen who resorted to the tops of mountains after their positions in Kafer Habbou village were broken into.

Investigations carried out by the army found that 11 persons, arrested earlier in al-Dinnieh in recent confrontations, were found not guilty.

Official sources indicated that number of persons arrested among the gunmen is 49, and the number of deaths is 21, but a Lebanese security source refused to give precise figures, stressing that there is "no final figure on the number of killings and woundings yet."

On Wednesday, Kafer Habbou town had held a funeral for two of the victims-- Sarah Yazbik, who was pregnant (four months), and her mother, Salwa Raad-- with a large number of people and officials participating.

The coalition of al-Dinnieh town and their Mukhtars (local chiefs) said, "The recent incidents in the area were made by outlaws and strangers to al-Dinnieh and its people, and these incidents have no connection nor relevance to the citizens of the area."