Lebanese Supporters of Erdogan Take to Streets in North, Bekaa, Sidon
The northern city of Tripoli and the nearby areas of Beddawi and Minieh have witnessed motorized demos in support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hours after Erdogan's loyalists foiled a coup that was staged by a group in the Turkish military.
The biggest rally in Tripoli was organized by the Jamaa Islamiya, which shares the Muslim Brotherhood ideology of Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The motorized demo headed from the city's Abi Samra area to one of Jamaa Islamiya's offices in the Dam Wal Farz region.
The group's top official in Tripoli, Sheikh Mustafa Alloush, delivered a speech at the location, condemning the attempted coup against Erdogan's government.
A similar demo was organized in Beddawi, where participators waved Turkish flags and pictures of Erdogan.
In Akkar, the municipality and dignitaries of the town of al-Kawashra called for a rally of “solidarity with Turkey's people, government and president.”
A number of the town's residents, especially those who have Turkmen roots, took part in the demo. Residents from nearby towns also participated in the show of solidarity.
The Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar also witnessed a demo of solidarity with the Turkish people and Erdogan during which Turkish flags and posters of Erdogan were carried.
Majdal Anjar municipal chief Saeed Hussein Dib Yassine, the town's imam Sheikh Mohammed Abdul Rahman and a number of municipality members and mayors participated in the rally.
Yassine delivered a speech at the demo, hailing “the strength and resolve of the Turkish people and the justice of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which prompted the Turkish people to take to the streets to reject the botched coup.”
Meanwhile, a similar rally demo turned violent in the southern city of Sidon.
The clash which erupted at the al-Quds roundabout involved supporters of the Jamaa Islamiya and bodyguards loyal to Sunni cleric Sheikh Maher Hammoud, who is close to Hizbullah.
Gunshots were fired in the air during the incident which started with a verbal dispute. Security forces intervened quickly and brought the situation under control.
Sheikh Hussam al-Eilani, the imam of Sidon's al-Ghofran Mosque, condemned the pro-Erdogan motorized demos, noting that “Lebanon is not a Turkish province.”
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