US special envoy Tom Barrack visited Marjayoun on Wednesday morning as part of a planned tour of South Lebanon. Later in the morning, however, his trip to Tyre and Khiam was canceled due to popular demonstrations organized in protest of the visit.
Arriving by helicopter at the François al-Hajj barrack in Marjayoun, Barrack was received in an area placed under heavy Lebanese Army security, particularly at the northern entrance of Khiam, where calls had been made to protest his arrival. Several residents of Khiam answered the call and staged, denouncing what they described as the “biased policies” of the United States.
An AFP correspondent in Khiam saw a group of residents, some waving Hezbollah flags or holding pictures of fighters killed in the conflict, demonstrating against him.
Bilal Kashmar, an official from the southern municipalities union, said dozens of people had also demonstrated in Tyre on Wednesday against Barrack's expected visit and Washington's "biased policies", mirroring Khiam residents' words.
National News Agency (NNA) later reported that the envoy had cancelled stops in both Khiam and Tyre. A spokesperson told AFP the US embassy did not comment on officials' schedules for security reasons.
His tour was initially set to take him to the border between Lebanon and Israel, to observe the site where a so-called “Trump economic zone” could be established.
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