Al-Asir, Supporters Rally in Tariq al-Jadideh, Sidon

Supporters of Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Tuesday staged a sit-in at Sidon's Elia roundabout as the Islamist cleric himself led a rally in the Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadideh.

Speaking at the Sidon sit-in, Asir's adviser Sheikh Ahmed Hariri reiterated the cleric's demands. He called on state authorities to remove “Hizbullah's weapons from the two apartments in Abra,” east of Sidon.

Simultaneously, Asir and a number of his supporters held another sit-in in Tariq al-Jadideh.

LBCI television said they blocked the road near the Imam Ali Mosque.

Meanwhile, Radio Voice of Lebanon (100.5) said “Asir's supporters reopened the road after 15 minutes after they blocked it to allow Asir's convoy to leave for an unknown destination.”

It later reported that Asir “returned to the Imam Ali Mosque in Tariq al-Jadideh after he toured the area between Qasqas and al-Khasheqji Mosque,” adding that the road was blocked again.

In a speech he delivered there, Asir said Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah “has managed, through the influence of his weapons, to force the Higher Defense Council to take a decision” to deploy security forces heavily around the Islamist cleric's mosque in Abra.

“Nasrallah is turning Lebanon into an Iranian mixture,” Asir added, noting that “all the Lebanese are allowed to demonstrate, for any cause, except Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir.”

The Islamist cleric added that his rhetoric is reflecting “what people are saying in their homes,” accusing the Higher Defense Council of convening with the aim of taking a decision to silence him.

Addressing Hizbullah, Asir said: “You either live with us equally, or the doors of Tehran are open for you.”

Asir and his supporters rallied on Friday, Saturday and Sunday near the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in the Sidon suburb of Abra to protest claims that Hizbullah rented apartments in the vicinity of the mosque.

Last month, the anti-Hizbullah cleric urged officials and authorities to force the evacuation of apartments allegedly inhabited by Hizbullah gunmen near his mosque to avert a possible “strife or any dangerous incident.”

“We will not give up on our right to live in dignity... We will escalate our measures if our demands weren't met,” Asir vowed on Sunday.

He has accused Hizbullah of “renting apartments” in the vicinity of his mosque with the aim of “monitoring” his movements.

“Recently, the mosque's neighbors, and we're among them, noticed some rented apartments that are inhabited by young men who are not residents of the area, and the neighbors thought that they are students,” Asir has said, adding that “a dispute happened recently and heavily armed young men came out of these rented apartments and threatened the neighbors.”

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday hinted that the party will not tolerate the evacuation of any of its offices in Sidon and its suburbs.

“We have a lot of allies in Sidon, especially in the Sunni sect. But thousands of Shiites have been residing in Sidon since hundreds of years, do they need a permission now? We were among those who fought to liberate Sidon and the South and we have offices, houses, mosques and complexes in Sidon since 30 years."

"We had offices in Abra before the (Bilal bin Rabah) mosque was built. Where will these insults lead us? We have not responded to these insults and will not be dragged to such insults. No one will launch a military response against any insults and I stress to our supporters that it is haram to respond to any insults," he added.

"Some parties must shoulder their responsibilities and we are extremely keen on civil peace, but no one should make wrong calculations. We do not want to threaten anyone or storm anyone's house and we're only concerned with raising our preparedness in the face of the Israeli enemy," Nasrallah went on to say.