Asir: Mustaqbal War against Us Led to Abra Battle, Christians Must Hold Aoun Accountable
Fugitive Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Monday appeared in a new audio message -- the second after the Abra battle -- in which he lashed out at Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and noted that Iran “has turned itself into an enemy of the Arabs.”
“Attacks against us are countless and do not need any evidence. They have attacked us in our institutions, centers and mosques, and their evil has targeted our brothers in Syria, contrary to what (Nasrallah) claimed about turning Iran and the Shiites into the enemy instead of the Zionists,” Asir said.
“Iran -- with its hateful, criminal Velayat-e Faqih (Iran's form of Islamic rule) policy -- has cooperated with the Great Satan (the U.S.) to slaughter us in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it gave you (Hizbullah) the green light to occupy Lebanon through your weapons and lately the mask has fallen in Syria … Iran has proclaimed itself as the enemy of the region,” the fugitive cleric, on the run since the army overran his Abra headquarters on June 24, added.
Criticizing Nasrallah's Quds Day speech, Asir accused the Hizbullah leader of seeking to rally Shiites behind his rhetoric “after the mask fell off in the region.”
“Enough with using Palestine for your own interests, as Palestine is cursing you, just like (Syria's) Qusayr and Homs did,” Asir added.
The Islamist cleric also blasted Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, accusing him of “resorting to blind incitement” and of “using his spiteful media outlets night and day to incite against the Sunni community.”
Asir attributed Aoun's “incitement” to his “lust for presidency” that was “blocked by (former premier) Saad Hariri.”
“Remember how he has incited against the Syrian revolution and how he has stood by the butcher against the victim and how he is still justifying the crimes of Nasrallah and his murderers who entered Syria to slaughter its people, especially in Qusayr and Homs,” Asir added.
“When the fire reaches the Christian areas, Christians must hold Aoun accountable for these stances,” he went on to say.
Asir accused the army's Commando Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, Aoun's son-in-law, of inspecting the conflict zone in Abra in the wake of the clashes to “steal the limelight” and “because of his ambition to become the next army commander.”
The fugitive cleric also launched a tirade against ex-PM Saad Hariri and “some al-Mustaqbal leaders who did not hesitate to fight me and distort my image.”
“What was the harm I caused you that prompted this campaign? Ever since we rallied in downtown Beirut in support of our beleaguered brothers, Saad Hariri and his associates started to describe me as an extremist,” Asir added.
“What happened in Abra was the normal result of the fierce war waged against us by the al-Mustaqbal movement. Why was this ferocious war waged against Ahmed al-Asir? Once through pressuring journalists to distort my image, once through contacting the Saadnayel Municipality to ban my demo and another through (Sidon MP) Bahia Hariri telephoning some muftis and telling them 'we want to besiege al-Asir,'” he went on to say.
Asir also criticized Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea over “cursing” him as part of their “cajolery and blandishment,” noting that he is “confident” that their supporters “do not approve of such a behavior.”
In his previous audio message on July 4, described the deadly Sidon clashes as a plot aimed at ending his presence.
According to an army statement, the clashes erupted after gunmen loyal to Asir attacked a checkpoint near his mosque in “cold blood” and "for no reason."
Eighteen soldiers were martyred and 20 others were wounded in the attack and in the fierce clashes that ensued. Twenty of Asir's gunmen were also killed in the fighting.
The fighting in Abra was among the worst in Lebanon since the outbreak of conflict in neighboring Syria 27 months ago deepened sectarian tensions.
It highlighted widespread Sunni resentment against the army, accused of siding with Hizbullah and being selective in its crackdown on armed groups.
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