Asir's Second Wife Says 'Army Caught us by Surprise', Describes Sidon Battles as Conspiracy
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The second wife of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir lashed out at Hizbullah on Friday, accusing it of being intransigent about the apartments in the southern town of Abra and increasing provocative acts and infringements.
“What happened on Sunday caught us by surprise... It might be a conspiracy that prompted the army to engage in a battle with us,” Amal al-Asir told An Nahar newspaper.
She pointed out that her husband always said that the main point of contention wasn't with the army, but with Hizullah's apartments in the area.
“We had held a month-long sit-in demanding the state and army to control all weapons so we can live in peace with all the sects, without having one dominate another. We were also besieged for more than seven-months inside the Bilal bin Rabah mosque by the army, and we never attacked the army,” Amal said.
She said that she had never experienced a similar “heavy bombardment of a small area overcrowded with buildings and apartments even during the civil war.”
She criticized the army, saying that “Hizbullah dominates it, and decision-making is out of its hands.”
Amal said that Hizbullah gunmen participated in the Sidon battles alongside the troops, accusing the army of ignoring the party's continuous violations and assaults.
Soldiers battled supporters of Sheikh al-Asir in Abra on Sunday and Monday in a major gunbattle lasting 24 hours.
Asir is now on the run after 18 soldiers were killed in the clash.
On Thursday, Hizbullah vacated several apartments in the area of Abra, handing them over to the Lebanese army.
The Abra clash was the worst in Lebanon since the outbreak of conflict in neighboring Syria 27 months ago that has deepened sectarian tensions.
Although Asir's extremist discourse was unpopular with members of his Sunni sect, the army's campaign against him raised questions over why the military failed to use the same force against Hizbullah.
Sunni clerics have accused the army of covering for Hizbullah, whose troops are fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria.
Relatively unknown just two years ago, Asir gained prominence in Lebanon because of his virulently anti-Hizbullah, sectarian discourse.
Last year, he set up a protest tent city that closed a main road in Sidon for a month in a sit-in meant to pressure Hizbullah to disarm.
Earlier this month, he accused the army of “defending” the apartments owned by the Shiite party.
He warned he would resort to a “military option” if his demand to vacate them was not met.
Amal said that Asir told her the last time he saw her before the battles intensified that “I will see you in heaven Insha'allah.”
She told An Nahar that “we will be martyred with our heads held up high, we will not yield to anyone.”
28 June 2013, 10:00
1010
the picture says it all...what a clown. can't believe so many people are defending what he did to our brave soldiers. they should all be brought to courts.
28 June 2013, 10:24
913
nobody is defending what he did, all on this site agree that he should be removed.
but so should hizbushaitan and associates.
28 June 2013, 14:47
22
Who is defending this guy? We are only saying that HA and its satellite militias are allowed to roam free and this is one of the reason Asir phenomenon appeared. And tomorrow there may be another Asir.
28 June 2013, 20:01
11
aha...u really are great pierro...and what about all the takfiris emerging in Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Syria and many others...I suppose their "phenomenon" was due to HA as well
28 June 2013, 16:21
00
Indeed it was planned. They, I also heard, had also stockpiled weapons and had 2 doctors underground for quick measures and recuperation. There's little need to mention this was preplanned for months. His bellicose rhetoric never hid that fact in the slightest.
What really blows her stances is the fact that a Jordanian man caught with $2.2 million was arrested some weeks ago proudly claiming the money was to fund salafis and is to be given to a certain cleric with the abbreviation A.A. Gee, I wonder who that could possibly be.
28 June 2013, 10:17
56
Very few are defending what he did the our soldiers (I hope!) but this begs a questions; who is controlling our army today?
28 June 2013, 10:33
66
Scum the lot of them hizb or any other fanatical clan,
Partition please.
28 June 2013, 10:54
11
Brainwashed ideologies: See how well it's been for the human race?
28 June 2013, 11:25
63
Why did Al-Nahar interview her in the first place? The Lebanese army lauched a war on terror, and we as Lebanese citizens, newspapers and media outlets should support the state in these tough times, not interview a wife of a terrorist who's group killed at least 18 nembers of our brave army. I must admit here that what happend in Sidon/Abra was part of a full package deal. Assir must be removed, however he was given a safe exit. Hezbollah's flats were also cleared by the Army, not Assir as part of the deal. The abra clashes prevented the country from slipping into a future sectarian confrontation. Thanks Army, thanks Hezbollah for acting right. Bye bye Assir, i hope your having fun in Ein El-Helweh with your Jihadi-Takfiri buddies ;)
28 June 2013, 11:42
26
it did not prevent anything: it increased sectarian strife.
worse than asir will popup soon....
28 June 2013, 11:28
37
As we all know, christian militia was born out of the palestinians attempt to build a state within the state in Lebanon. Hizbollah/shiah-extremism was born out of frustration with the Israeli presence in Lebanon. Now the table has turned, and Al-Assirs group/sunni-extremism has grouwn out of frustration with Hizbollas state within the state where they and their supporters are not hold accountable for anything they do, small or big (anything from illegal building, not paying electricity bills, assasination attempts...the list goes on..) What goes around comes around. When the native North Americans free life came to an end in the late 19th century they turned to the ghost dance as a last desperate way of getting rid of the unwanted. What we are witnessing in Lebanon today is a ghost dance indeed.
28 June 2013, 11:44
38
Tx Karim. Its always a pleasure to read such in depth comments by you. Btw, talking of blowing yourself up....I am sure you know your history an knows where this haram practice was introduced in the Midde East. Does the US marine barrakcs in Beirut 1983 ring a bell?
28 June 2013, 12:06
47
un520 I couldn't agree more. As a matter of fact I've had interestng convos with pro-HA individuals over the years and they've expressed willing to blow themselves up just as much, what you're seeing here is a concept known as splitting, both sides see themselves as good while the other is evil. Human nature's funny lol.
28 June 2013, 11:39
25
lebpatriot. did you see any of her in the interview? sure not ,she looked like a ninja with a modern sunglasses.tanjara wleit ghataha.
28 June 2013, 12:54
10
I don't mean to be a misanthropist, but who else thinks the coming weeks are probably the most critical - either we sustain the Syrian breakdown or we blow ourselves like they're doing? Seems to me this morning's explosion could have been the start of something we all wish it doesn’t happen.
28 June 2013, 13:43
10
Is it just me or are certain people in denial here...What happened on Sunday caught us by surprise... It might be a conspiracy that prompted the army to engage in a battle with us,” Amal al-Asir told An Nahar newspaper." I thought they attacked the army and now she claims the army caught them by surprise like the army instigated it.
28 June 2013, 15:25
00
May 7 ... very civilized ... very peaceful ... 1.5 years sit-in, no conflict cause no one dared to provoke them ... no conflict but bankrupt 1000s of Lebanese who had businesses in the area.
You FT just hide by the shadow of your finger
28 June 2013, 15:27
01
This is the problem and it will always be,everybody wants to follow a dude,Aoun, Geagea, Franjiye w ila akhirihi, but why? Who says wt these guys think or do or say is whats best for OUR nation? A nation that has over 6000 yrs of history, we are a people of intellect and advancement, the westerners dream to be like us and begin to even understand how advanced we are as a people! I live in Canada, and i dont know of a successful company that doesn't at least have a lebanese involded in higher management! De3an cha3bna bhla siyesiyin! tfeh 3alayon wa7ad wa7ad , sle7 hezballah lezem y koun bi 2id el jeish, w sle7 aya 7ezeb kamen! Lezem nefham ka lebneniyin, eno el messlim, w el derzi , w el massi7eh kelna fard cha3b min la7m w dam, w michen heik badna jeish 3ala hal 2assess, khaleh aya enssen, in ken mout3asseb aw la2, ya3rif eno el 2id yali btemtad 3alayna badna no2ta3a! De3anak ya sheikh Bachir!
28 June 2013, 15:35
02
funny, your exact words could be said about Nasrallah ... were is he hiding while his sheep r killing and being killed ... is his life so much more valuable than theirs?
Rats both of them and anyone who thinks they are more important than Lebanon and the real Lebanese
28 June 2013, 15:38
11
Mowaten please tell me how asir is soo brave and he would fight til the last drop when the fighting got hesavy he ran like a sissy and hide with fadel cracker.. probably sniffin a few more lines.. hes a coward and wuss.. allah yehima il jaysh..
28 June 2013, 15:47
23
I have only one good thing to say about Assir.... he was eco-friendly. Other than that, good riddance.
28 June 2013, 16:05
10
"funny how even asir's wife and his direct aides didnt say what geha, injustice, overseer, benzona and the other paid M14 drones are gladly saying (that the army is controlled by hezb and that the army is now officially a shabiha unit)"
=> She criticized the army, saying that “Hizbullah dominates it, and decision-making is out of its hands.”
lol....
28 June 2013, 16:10
31
Just watched an interview with her on YouTube and she sounds very sexy behind that ninja outfit. I wonder if my girlfriend would wear one of those tonight. I can pretend im a soldier looking for assir and I find her home alone and the first thing I have to do is search her under that ninja outfit for weapons. Wish me luck people off to the shops I go.
28 June 2013, 16:38
11
overseer,I'm trying to be a pal here and do not intend to step on any toes: Lebanese politics is always extremely convoluted, much more so than most other nations. It's the golden apple everybody fights over. One of the last, perhaps even the last, Middle Eastern nation that is in many regards as liberal and life-loving as the epitome of such characteristics found in the rest of the world.
The most ostensibly innocent may be the culprits of the most heinous crimes--everybody's a suspect. Even people who are on the other side of the world. To me in all honesty, it seems that all these events are instigated quite directly by M14 simply because of all the unrest and clashes between government institutions and armed rats during the last year or so have been focused in areas controlled by said front. Your unfamiliarity with such notions of surreptitious allegiances and innerworkings of Lebanese politics makes your posts a bit, well, I regret using the word, naive.
28 June 2013, 16:54
11
Most of the troops killed were killed with a single shot...neck,chest and head...they fell at the start which to me indicates assirs men were waiting in elevated positions. So amal give us a break. She should be happy shes probably never been able to speak this much in her life...actually shouldn't she be charged as an accessory?
29 June 2013, 04:17
01
So were Hezb fighters (in high places and on top of hills and we know they have the best trained snipers and guns. I personally think some of the soldiers were shot by Hezb men just to garner more support from the Lebanese who identify with the army and cause loss of support for Asir and his sheep. I never underestimate the strategic thinking of Hezb leadership (they plan their work and work their plans).
I am glad Assir is dealt with but still waiting for the Hezb to hand over its arms to the Army.
29 June 2013, 04:13
11
wolf calls assir an animal. When Lebanon becomes the wilderness (thanks to Hezb in big part), then the only survivors become the animals as civilized people would run to the exit and seek civilized societies. So disband your Islamic resistance before more animals are born.
30 June 2013, 15:31
00
He belongs in a circus that clown. Check out the standing rails on his front tires. I think that's for his dog fadel shaker. Lol.
