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| Nicholas Blanford: Monitor correspondent in Lebanon. Courtesy of the writer |
Our reporter's night in a Lebanese jail
After a run-in with Hizbullah militants, Monitor correspondent Nicholas Blanford finds himself in a Lebanese military jail.
By Nicholas Blanfordfrom the August 1, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 3
The white van pulled up and blocked our car. Three bearded men climbed out. We knew instantly they were from Hizbullah.
Who are you? What are you doing here? What have you been photographing, the men asked.
We are journalists, we explained. We were in Yahfoufa, a Lebanese hamlet near the Syrian border, reporting a story.
They didn't buy it. Instead, they thought we were Israeli spies.
And so began our ordeal that would take us from a Hizbullah hideout to a Lebanese Army cell. My Shiite fixer, Ali, and I were grilled for hours, often in handcuffs, and detained overnight.
It all began two weeks earlier when Ali and I, along with another colleague, dined with some members of Lebanon's militant Shiite Hizbullah in the Bekaa Valley. The grilled lamb and chicken and salads were delicious, conversations with the Hizbullah men relaxed and friendly.
We finished the day taking a few potshots at a watermelon with Ali's automatic pistol.
Two weeks later, on Sunday, Ali and I drove into the Bekaa to report on smuggling across the border. I wanted to visit Toufeil, the most remote village in Lebanon reached only by a dirt track.
But the Army stationed in the Bekaa told me I would need permission to travel to Toufeil from the Lebanese Defense Ministry in Beirut. Instead, we headed to Yahfoufa, a hamlet set in a rocky valley near the Syrian border.
As always, we talked to people and snapped a few photos. But that got the attention of the local Hizbullah men.
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