Lebanon court sentences 106 to death over clashes with army

A Lebanon military judge Wednesday sentenced 106 men to death over clashes between the army and jihadists two years ago in the east of the country, a judicial source said, Naharnet reported.

Judge Najat Abou Chakra convicted 73 Syrians, 32 Lebanese and one Palestinian of belonging to "terrorist organisations", attacking the town of Arsal near the Syrian border, and kidnapping and attempting to kill Lebanese soldiers and policemen, the source said.

Seventy-seven of those convicted are in custody but the other 29 remain at large.

After lengthy negotiations, 16 of the captured men were released in early December in exchange for Islamist prisoners jailed in Lebanon.

Since the start of the five-year conflict in Syria, Lebanon has become home to more than one million Syrian refugees, Agence France Presse reported.