Naharnet

Fugitives Ali and Rifaat Eid Attend Slain Relative's Funeral

Residents of the Syrian side of the border town of Hikr al-Daheri held a funeral Tuesday for Bader Eid -- a brother of Arab Democratic Party leader Ali Eid – who was shot dead Monday in the Akkar town of al-Kuweikhat.

TV footage showed Ali Eid and his son Rifaat -- both wanted by Lebanese authorities on terror offenses -- participating in the funeral procession.

The coffin was transferred to the Syrian side of the town through the Arida border crossing.

Bader succumbed to his injuries in hospital Monday after he was critically wounded in an armed attack on his car in al-Kuweikhat.

“To foil strife, we hope the crime's circumstances will be unveiled and I believe Lebanese security agencies have the ability to unveil them,” Rifaat Eid told reporters during the funeral.

“I want to thank Syria for allowing us to see our uncle in Syria, not in Lebanon. We weren't able to see him in Lebanon -- not because we were incapable of visiting him, but out of respect for our army and judiciary,” Eid added.

He is wanted by the Lebanese judiciary over charges of murder and terrorism that are related to the deadly clashes between the rival Tripoli districts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh in recent years.

A 2014 indictment had demanded the death penalty for Rifaat Eid and three senior Jabal Mohsen fighters.

His father, Ali, is wanted in Lebanon in connection with the 2013 twin bombings that targeted Tripoli's al-Salam and al-Taqwa mosques and left 45 people dead and over 500 wounded.

The two fugitives managed to flee to Syria as an unprecedented security plan got underway in Tripoli in April 2014.

Rifaat, however, vowed to return to Lebanon in his remarks to reporters on Tuesday.

“We will return sooner or later, and we will certainly return, because right will triumph and injustice will be exposed,” he said.

Y.R.


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