Sidon Pro-al-Asir Rally Goes ahead despite Security Decision to Thwart it

A rally in support of fugitive Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir is took place on Friday as scheduled after the main weekly Muslim prayers.

The rally went ahead in spite of a decision taken by by-security council of the South on Wednesday to thwart such demonstrations outside of Sidon's Bilal bin Rabah Mosque.

Al-Asir was the imam of the mosque and the rally is being staged to demand the release of Sheikh Assem al-Arefi and 46 other supporters of the fugitive cleric.

Contacts intensified on Thursday to thwart the rally, but one of the clerics at the mosque told An Nahar published on Friday on condition of anonymity that the demonstration will be held.

He confirmed that the by-security council had informed the organizers of the rally that it would be thwarted “even if the security forces had to resort to opening fire.”

He responded however that the demonstration will be staged.

“Sidon MPs and its religious and political authorities, as well as Hizbullah, will be responsible for any drop of blood shed in the demonstration,” he warned.

Media reports said earlier this week that two of al-Asir's supporters Sheikhs Otham Hnaineh and Iyyad al-Saleh were released from custody after being given a stern warning against calling for a rally in support of the cleric.

The third cleric, al-Arefi, remains in custody.

He was arrested for taking part in the June Sidon clashes and for leading a campaign to garner al-Asir's supporters to rally in support of the fugitive.

Al-Asir's supporters were involved in armed clashes with the army in Sidon and nearby Abra region in June.

The clashes broke out when the gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint.

Al-Asir's supporters and eye-witnesses have repeatedly accused Hizbullah fighters of being involved in the unrest.

Al-Asir, a 45-year-old cleric who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, has been on the run since June.