The Central Security Council Tuesday agreed to boost security measures at night in Beirut including a ban on motorcycles, during a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, The Daily Star reported.
"The council agreed to boost security at night by [increasing the number of] military and security personnel," the council said in a statement issued after the meeting.
A decision to ban motorcycles from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the Greater Beirut area will go into effect next week.
The council said the ban aimed to curb the rise of crimes carried out on motorcycles and would be followed by other measures that would take into consideration company motorcycles.
Authorities have drafted and implemented a security plan for the capital earlier this year to address the rise of car bombings linked to the crisis in Syria.
During the meeting, Machnouk spoke about the government's recent decisions to limit and organize the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, stressing the importance of the latest measure to ban refugees from entering Syria or face losing their refugee status.
He said such a measure was the only serious step taken by the government since the crisis began in 2011.
He also reminded the council of the ministry's measures related to banning political demonstrations or pubic gatherings to avoid tensions between refugees and host communities.
He noted that the ban on public gatherings came after several security incidents took place against refugees including last week's fire in a refugee camp in the Bekaa.
State prosecutor Samir Hammoud, head of General Security Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, head of Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous and Beirut Governor Ziyad Shbib were among security and judicial officials who attended the meeting.