Roads Blocked, Gunmen Appear on Streets in Pro-Asir 'Day of Rage'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Gunmen took to the streets in Tripoli and blocked roads as demos were held in Beirut's Tariq al-Jedideh in support of fugitive cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, in what protesters dubbed the Sunni sect's “day of rage.”
State-run National News Agency said armed men blocked the old seaside road that links Tripoli to Beirut at the al-Behsas area and “forced shops to close.”
The sounds of machinegun fire were reverberating across the restive northern city, NNA said.
Meanwhile, protesters blocked the Tripoli-Beirut international highway in the Palma resort area and fired gunshots in the air, as other demonstrators blocked the highway at the al-Salam roundabout at Tripoli's entrance.
LBCI television said the army went on alert in the al-Rifaiyeh area, adding that “gunfire erupted in a number of Tripoli areas as protesters replaced a large picture of (ex-PM Saad) Hariri in al-Nour Square with another for al-Asir.”
In Beirut, a sit-in organized by the Salafist Hizb ut-Tahrir party was held in the Tariq al-Jedideh neighborhood to protest the deadly clashes in the southern city of Sidon. Scores of citizens took part in the rally.
“The current events are the result of an American-Iranian conspiracy aimed at preventing the establishment of an Islamic caliphate state in the Levant,” said Hizb ut-Tahrir official Saleh Salam.
Salam blasted Hizbullah, saying “enough with taking people's minds lightly.”
Protesters vowed that they “will not remain silent over what happened in Sidon,” voicing solidarity with al-Asir.
The protests coincided with a prayer that was held in Sidon and attended by a large number of al-Asir's supporters and the area's residents.
Clashes between the army and gunmen loyal to al-Asir on Sunday and Monday left 18 troops dead and 20 others wounded. More than 20 supporters of al-Asir were also killed in the fighting.
28 June 2013, 16:55
56
“gunfire erupted in a number of Tripoli areas as protesters replaced a large picture of (ex-PM Saad) Hariri in al-Nour Square with another for al-Asir.”
Wow.
Asir now represents the salafis ? Petty fools. I hope they all get arrested and cleared off the streets for disrupting civil order.
28 June 2013, 17:05
44
christianimmigrant, I personally think that the reason for the Army's wariness is does not stem from their incapability from stomping them, but rather politics, and the Army's noble objective of preventing any catalysis for any wars or more loss of valuable life (e.g. soldiers/innocent bystanders).
All in due time, however.
28 June 2013, 17:07
46
u r right, as the army should stood still and watch Assir militiamen kill them.
but this is what we get after spreading rumors that HA took part in the clashes with Assir,saying that it was a plot from HA that Assir fell in, and building more and more sunnis-shia tensions, some rumors went to say that without HA the Lebanese army would have been slaughtered and couldn't finish Al Assir.
28 June 2013, 17:11
37
will HA stand behind the army and praise it , if the army decides to take their weapons? HA would rather start a war against lebanese army than hand their weapons to the state of lebanon... think of it :) LOL!!!!
28 June 2013, 17:29
74
i agree, theobserver. first to blame is media - you watch Future and Mtv they make up stories out of the blue just to bash on Hezbollah and make it look like as though they were involved in the clashes. What a disgrace these two TV channels...(and I am not completely crediting Otv or Manar either)
28 June 2013, 18:10
48
theobserver
the army should not stand still when it is attacked.
but at the same time, the army should not stand still when a demonstrator is killed in front of it.
the army should not stand still in may 7th.
the army should not stand still when hizbushaitan murders people.
the army should not stand still and not capture wanted hizbushaitan elements for murdering Lebanese leaders.
the army should not stand still .....
28 June 2013, 17:08
38
assir was nothing but thanks to the help of hezbis he now is a "hero" for the sunni extremists... create chaos is what hezbis need to make forget their involvement in syria and with OTV spreading lies they are reaching their goal!
if you let hezbi the only ones to have the right to detain arms and go unpunished every time they trespass the law it is only logic to see sunni extremists do the same...
it is the logical result lots of people warned about but no one listened as hezbis control every thing...
28 June 2013, 18:55
42
with all due respect i dont think the christians,shia or druze took assir seriously at all? Even alot of the sunnis...he was chosen to play a role and he did. These people supporting him are the same ones that cut off the head of a priest in syria the other day in front of chanting crowds including kids and paraded it around....thats the scary part.
29 June 2013, 04:28
22
The more extremism generated the weaker the State gets and the better off Hezb become. Hezb knows that its policies and actions are resulting in more extreme Sunni affiliations, but this is their goal and their strategy is working. Building a strong State is their biggest fear.
28 June 2013, 17:23
86
Go ahead you young lions burn tripoli to the ground. Who do HA think they are walking around with weapons. Burn Tripoli, close the shops and burn them, shoot each other and block all the roads in and out of Tripoli. I think that if HA doesn't hand the weapons over start executing a civilian every 2 minutes.
28 June 2013, 17:48
35
no he pretends to be a "slayer" of wahabis... the same thing he reproaches wahabis of, he wants to do the same! see any difference between both? i don't LOL!
28 June 2013, 17:30
55
this is called patriotism - these thugs love "Lebanon" their own way.
28 June 2013, 17:45
56
like HA when they burn tires block airport roads and take to the streets... no differences! you think HA will side with the army if the army takes their weapons? no way! they would attack it too....
sunni extremism is the same as chia extremism... but HA lovers wouldn't see this: it is called brainwashing....
28 June 2013, 18:13
56
hizbushaitan created sunni extremism by side lining moderate sunnis.
we are going to civil war, thanks to hizbushaitan.
28 June 2013, 18:55
82
geha, hezbollah didnt create salafist extremism... who are you kidding? this wahabbi theology of killing and hatred of non "pure" sunni islam is the cause! forget about non muslims, they hate other muslims.
We need hezbollah to integrate with the lebanese army not disarm. look at the jewish militias merging with the idf. they are now the most efficient and powerful armed force. why disarm and destroy hezbollah and weaken lebanon... we should unite! that can only happen through building trust, not by threatening them. this all could be over if only we united after the 2006 war... instead of demonizing the fpm's MOU. hezbollah have now rejected the theory of islamic lebanon but we have allowed the evil theology of Saudi arabia and their satellites to promote sectarian hatred because of the cold war with iran!
28 June 2013, 19:11
37
ado
once more let me try to make it clearer:
- yes we had salafis in Lebanon, but never at this level. why?
- the actions of the extremist shia hizbushaitan have done this.
- side lining, killing moderate sunni leaders has generated this increase with sunni extremism.
- may 7, and now saida events with all the videos and pictures on the web, have inflamed sunnis across the world.
what do you expect?
extremism begets extremism.
for months I have been warning about this, and now we are here.
hizbushaitan is beyond being integrated with the army (actually they are integrating the army to do their dirty jobs these days).
28 June 2013, 17:46
38
A bunch of idiot is accurate. The hell with all religions....or at least with those fanatic extremists whether they be Jews, Muslims, christians, etc! They are the source of all world friction & instability!
28 June 2013, 18:19
56
I agree with you bigsami for once... except with hell to all religions. Religion and faith should be personal not public as long as there is freedom of belief. These extremist fanatics that are willing to kill someone because of their faith or sect are evil... Hizb al tahrir was legalized by Ahmed Fatfat in 2005... These people must be crushed! There is a difference between freedom of speech and religion and those that preach hatred, murder and suppression.
28 June 2013, 18:45
211
ado
why not talk about the main extremist group in existence in Lebanon?
why not talk about hizbushaitan?
are they not an extremist sectarian militia?
is it not there actions who are creating extremism on the other side?
stop being blind guys: we need to tackle the root of all evil, hizbushaitan.
28 June 2013, 19:15
62
geha, I dont want any arms or militias outside the control of the LAF and lebanese state. i want hezballoh to merge with the LAF and come under the control of the state. Lebanon and all its people should be free of the israeli threat, free of syrian control and free of saudi arabia, usa and every other foreign government. we have replaced syria with saudi influence. we cant even form a government without saudi permission!
even if every lebanese sunni became pro Assir salafi extremist, they would still lose to the majority of lebanon. no side can defeat the other in lebanon!
28 June 2013, 17:50
12
How civilized....on the plus side the guys selling the tires can now by 6 houses from all the profit they're making.
28 June 2013, 18:05
58
as I sad it before: instead of one asir, the actions of hizbushaitan is saida have created hundreds of new asir.
the more hizbushaitan humiliates others, the more radicalism we will see.
let jzbushaitan enjoy what they are creating.
28 June 2013, 18:07
47
it is all a reaction to the participation of hizbushaitan in the saida events.
28 June 2013, 18:33
28
You should blame your Hizbbala thugs for having an illegal militia ya zaki...
28 June 2013, 18:42
28
mowaten
the failure of hizbushaitan to realize that their extremism is generating sunni extremism, and where it will all lead is disastrous.
being blind to the sentiment of the people is where tyrants failed and went down.
nasrallah = hitler.
28 June 2013, 19:13
27
exactly what needed to be demonstrated coming from a shia extremist.
what do you expect from a sunni seeing your comment to react?
thank you for making my point.
28 June 2013, 19:48
02
From my end dude, I've seen Shia and Sunni extremism on both ends, not a fun experience. I agree on the army going in, that's a no brainer. But really? the problem won't be solved, just repeated. Thing is here on both sides of the coin there's too much religious influence combined with a grip on power is what's killing the country. There was never a true separation of faith an State, they use the God card too much on both parts of the spectrum. And especially when the troublemakers on either side lack any collective education and all the know is violence and intimidation to get their point across, the trouble will just repeat itself over and over again.
28 June 2013, 23:16
12
on a totally different note, it's sad to see the legacy of Hariri that paved the way for a more refined Sunni Community be crushed... Hariri tried numerous times to find common grounds with Nasrallah..exerted all options short of arming his sect...Alas, in the eyes of radicals, Hariri weakened lebanon's sunnis...and that's why you see people like Assir popping up...Lebanon will only prosper once its government is stronger than any sect/militia/...for that to happen, all sects should either have their own small militias with government lobbyists or none should...
29 June 2013, 20:17
00
Charlemagne, i choose the lesser of 2 evils, i'd prefer my sons and daughters to pick up a pen rather than a gun... And i believe hariri believes that too.. Anyways, all im saying is let every village, society and community hold heavy guns or none at all..hariri opted for the second choice while HA took the first... Assir is product of HA's policies in Lebanon... Very simple and even an idiot with low IQ... i.e a Aounist, should acknowledge that..
28 June 2013, 23:20
22
on a totally different note, it's sad to see the legacy of Hariri that paved the way for a more refined Sunni Community be crushed... Hariri tried numerous times to find common grounds with Nasrallah..exerted all options short of arming his sect...Alas, in the eyes of radicals, Hariri weakened lebanon's sunnis...and that's why you see people like Assir popping up...Lebanon will only prosper once its government is stronger than any sect/militia/...for that to happen, all sects should either have their own small militias with government lobbyists or none should...
28 June 2013, 23:35
31
Great publicity for the FPM. The February 14 is hemorrhaging Christian votes over this and its leaders' attacks on the army. Keep it up terrorists!
29 June 2013, 00:42
22
Wolf, they even deleted my post where I wrote that the tire burning would cause children to have respiratory problems and damaged immune system. Go figure...
29 June 2013, 00:53
31
nice throw away line roar "M14 & their followers want to burn Lebanon" but if HA burn tires and obstruct the army, they are the resistance and it is ok for them as they are demonstrating a legitimate right. When HA kidnap israeli soldiers and in turn cause half of the south to burn we are the victims and HA are our saviours, kinda mirror image of what is happening here with these clowns i think. you seem to condone one side being terrorists but support another side doing the same. Unless you are a sheep following blinding then what your masters tell you must true..
29 June 2013, 04:11
22
funny m8: accusing true Lebanese of being non Lebanese, while they are Iranian traitors :)
that is funny.
it is like when kanso accused the president of treason!
a Syrian agent accusing the Lebanese president of being a traitor!
indeed funny perspective.
29 June 2013, 10:25
00
The answer is clear. Muslims cant live in Lebanon anymore. They just cant behave.
30 June 2013, 15:30
00
What an embarrassing country. Which country allows their people to shut down roads? Which country's people fight and destroy their own country for what's going on in other parts of the world that doesn't have anything to do with them? Yes it's the stupid people of Lebanon and their so called heroes and leaders. It's so funny how the Lebanese always claim to be the smartest people in the world however in reality are the stupidest.
