Kfardebian Residents Block Road to Prevent al-Asir from Reaching Faraya
Around 50 protesters from Kfardebian briefly blocked the main road of the mountain town on Thursday to protest a visit to a ski resort by controversial Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir.
Kfardebian municipal chief Jean Aqiqi told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that the road was blocked “out of fears of the consequences that Sheikh al-Asir and his group could have on the tourism season.”
The cleric had announced that he would visit the Faraya ski resort along with scores of his supporters for recreation on the occasion of the Prophet's birthday.
Thursday is a national holiday in Lebanon.
The protesters first argued with soldiers, who reopened the door to pave way for several buses from al-Asir's Bilal bin Rabbah mosque in Sidon from reaching Faraya.
But the angry residents formed a human barricade and blocked the road again to stop the convoy that reportedly included some 200 of the cleric's supporters.
Several attempts by the army and security forces to allow the buses to cross the barricade left at least two people slightly injured.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel hoped that the residents of Kesrouan would be pragmatic and urged the protesters to open the road.
“We don't want the problem to grow,” he told LBCI TV.
Former Minister Farid Haykal al-Khazen also rushed to the area to urge the protesters to clear the road.
The road was finally reopened after the more than two-hour protest.
Al-Khazen dubbed al-Asir's visit along with his supporters as suspicious, warning that he would “shove Kesrouan in unwanted conflicts.”
He also hoped that al-Asir would cut his visit short.
“We must praise the demonstrators for their brave stand, which was aimed at protecting the dignity of Christians,” he added.
“If al-Asir wanted to perform a tourist visit, he would not have advertised it in the media,” he said.
“I would have invited him for lunch at my house if it was a truly tourist trip,” he continued.
The Lebanese Forces later condemned in a statement the blocking of the Kfardebian road, saying: “The Lebanese people's rights, regardless of their religious affiliations and opinions, are sacred.”
“Kesrouan was and will always welcome all sons of Lebanon,” it said.
Moreover, it demanded that all concerned legal and security agencies arrest those linked to creating incitement.
Charbel later contacted Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, who stressed that all citizens have the right to head to any Lebanese region.
He also demanded that any FPM supporter present at the protest leave the scene.
The Movement's Kesrouan coordinator later denied that FPM supporters were present at the Kfardebian demonstration.
The Army Command issued a statement in the afternoon urging citizens to comply with the army's measures at the scene in order to maintain peace and the people's rights move freely throughout Lebanon.
It also hoped that media outlets would assume their responsibility in covering such events, saying: “They should not exaggerate the incident and instead help restore calm among the people.”
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