ICC Note:

It’s easy to overlook Qaa, a small Christian town in Lebanon, but this city is critical in the fight against ISIS. Lebanon, a small country bordering Syria, has avoided being dragged into the Sunni-Shia conflict that has engulfed much of the region. Lebanon is reportedly in the front line for the West, shielding it from potential terrorist attacks. However, Lebanon is becoming increasingly unstable as refugees pour in upsetting the political and demographic equilibrium. Furthermore, there are fears that funding for the Lebanese Armed Forces will be cut. Qaa is a symbol of courage of Christians of Lebanon but faces daily terror attacks that does not get the attention it deserves.

06/29/2017 Lebanon (Newsweek) – On the morning of June 27, 2016, Yosef Farris awoke, like most in the Christian town of Qaa, around 4:10 am to the sound of an explosion. A policeman, he rushed toward the town center. On the way, he heard a second explosion. Then a third. By the time he arrived at the scene of the explosions, he saw what little remained of his brother, George.

Moments before, George, a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) veteran, had tackled one of the suicide bombers to the ground. The bomber then detonated his bomb, killing them both. George almost certainly saved lives, but his wife Donia, standing nearby, was critically wounded in the blast. Yousef rushed to his sister-in-law, whose torso had been ripped apart. Moments later a fourth suicide bomber emerged, who was shot and wounded, though he still managed to detonate his vest, injuring several more citizens of Qaa.

By 4:30am, the town had endured four suicide bombers in an area of perhaps fifty yards. The attacks claimed five lives, including George and wounded nineteen.

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