Syrian couple arrested in Lebanon for allegedly selling newborn girl

A Syrian couple living in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley have been arrested for allegedly selling their newborn baby girl for 7 million Lebanese Lira ($4,600 US dollars).

The baby was born in a Baalbek city hospital on 10 March.

Three other individuals involved in the alleged sale were also arrested on Thursday, all of whom were named on the Lebanese internal security forces website. 

No details were revealed about how the sale of the newborn was discovered - but both the baby girl and the money received for her sale were immediately seized by police.

According to a statement by security forces, all those involved admitted their roles in the sale when questioned by police, and were held in detention pending further investigation. 

It remains unclear what the next steps will be for the newborn, who remains in state custody and has been temporarily housed with a charity specialising in childcare. 

Lebanon is in the throes of multiple crises which has caused the Lebanese pound, or Lira, to plummet, and hunger to soar. 

Unable to secure work, Lebanon’s huge refugee population is particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and precarious living standards as the Lebanese government lurches from one crisis to another. 

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatening wheat supplies across the Middle East and causing the Lebanese government to ration flour, the situation looks likely to worsen for many in Lebanon.

The UN estimates the 78 percent of Lebanon's population live below the poverty line, with many children going hungry.