A group of men attacked a Beirut bar on Wednesday night as it was hosting a Drag Queens show, hurling insults and preventing some patrons from leaving. Reports circulating on social media and unconfirmed for the moment also report injuries.
The incident happened at the Om bar, in the Mar Mikhaël district of Beirut. The Lebanese LGBTQ+ rights group Helem, citing eyewitnesses, linked the incident to the Christian extremist group Jnoud al-Rab (“Soldiers of God”). The Orient-The Day was unable to confirm this information at this time.
“It lasted a good hour”
The place hosted a show by two Lebanese Drag Queens, Latiza Bombé and Emma Gration. An Om employee told The Orient Today that there were no injuries.
“The Soldiers of God attacked the place, took everyone hostage and prevented people from leaving… It lasted a good hour,” Tarek Zeidan, executive director of Helem, told L’Orient Today. OT could not immediately confirm the identity of the attackers.
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A journalist from The Orient Today arrived at the scene around midnight to find two police cars following the incident, as well as a number of customers, passers-by and bar staff in shock.
“Several people who tried to escape were physically attacked and we are in the process of identifying the injured at this very moment,” added Mr. Zeidan, adding that he had collected testimony from those present at the scene.
“This is the place of Satan”
A passerby who was in the bar when the incident erupted around 11 p.m. expressed his fear over the situation. Videos of the attack were circulating on social media as early as Wednesday night, and men can be heard yelling, “This is Satan’s place! He promotes homosexuality…in the Lord’s land, It’s forbidden! We’re just chatting with you… You’ve been warned 100 times! This is just the beginning!”.
In recent months, similar attacks against the LGBTQ+ community have been carried out by the Soldiers of God. Other verbal attacks come from all sides, coming from political and religious leaders. Wednesday evening’s incident “shows how anarchic and serious the situation in Lebanon has become, and how ready the entire regime is to make this community a scapegoat,” said Tarek Zeidan.
A group of men attacked a Beirut bar on Wednesday night as it was hosting a Drag Queens show, hurling insults and preventing some patrons from leaving the premises. Reports circulating on social networks and unconfirmed for the moment also report injuries. The incident occurred at the Om bar, in the Mar Mikhaël district of Beirut….
