Protests in Baalbek over the killing of a wanted person by Lebanon’s security services have emphasized the Shiite community’s discontent with "Hezbollah" and strong criticism of its secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. Supporters of the party played down the importance of the protests and put them in the category of a “conflict between drug smugglers”. They said that protesters were those against the State decision to fight drug smugglers. On Monday, the Lebanese Army conducted a massive security operation that led to the killing of one of the most wanted persons by the Lebanese judiciary and seven of his supporters. This operation was met with angry reactions among Baalbek residents, who cut roads and accused "Hezbollah" of conspiring with the Lebanese state “to shed our blood because we say no to hunger”. The Lebanese Army Command - Guidance Directorate - issued on Wednesday a statement saying that the eight persons killed during the Hamoudieh raid operation had refused to surrender to the raid force and had opened fire at the LAF elements despite many warnings. According to the statement, investigations and interrogations, under the supervision of the competent judiciary, prove that all eight of them were outlaws against whom several arrest warrants were issued. Although the wave of objections against "Hezbollah" has intensified over the past two days in the wake of the security developments, these voices are not new, and began during the last parliamentary elections, as many criticized the party’s distinction between the residents of the Bekaa and those of the South. A source from the Bekaa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that "Hezbollah" had promised the residents during the parliamentary elections to visit their homes and stand on their demands. But after the elections, "Hezbollah" allowed “the Lebanese army and the security forces to enter our houses to inspect them and prosecute those wanted,” the source noted, adding that the party “did not meet its promises to carry out development projects.” In this context, former "Hezbollah" Secretary General Sobhi al-Tufaily criticized the party for neglecting the Bekaa residents. “The days have shown that no one in the state cares about the people of the Bekaa, and what is said about the legalization of the cultivation of cannabis will not be in the interest of the people of the Bekaa, because the cultivation licenses as promoted may go to other provinces, such as the South for example,” he told the Central News Agency.