Cautious Calm in Sidon as Clash Victims Laid to Rest
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Cautious calm prevailed in the southern port city of Sidon on Monday amid heavy deployment by the army after a gunbattle erupted between Hizbullah supporters and Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir in the Taamir Ain al-Hilweh neighborhood.
Schools and shops closed as the city mourned the killing of three people during the armed clashes, which also wounded seven others.
Asir decided to bury two of his supporters at al-Karama roundabout, the site of the month-long sit-in he had held earlier this year.
"Your blood is not less valuable than the blood of any Muslim," Asir said as his bodyguard Lobnan al-Ezz and loyalist Ali Samhoun were laid to rest.
Security sources told As Safir newspaper that the situation in the southern city requires imposing a state of emergency or declaring it a military zone.
According to the sources, the cabinet session that will be held at the Grand Serail on Wednesday will tackle the situation in Sidon.
The daily said that several security figures, who attended an emergency security meeting presided by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on Sunday night, demanded the arrest of Asir after obtaining the necessary political cover for such an endeavor.
However, Charbel wondered about the repercussions of the issue on the local situation.
"There will be no security compromises after today. The army will open fire on anyone holding a weapon," Charbel said during the meeting.
On Friday, Asir gave an ultimatum to Hizbullah supporters in the city to take down all posters promoting the party. But they “rejected” prompting the Salafist cleric and his supporters to head to the Taamir neighborhood and rip down a poster of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The Army Command issued a statement saying military units have launched raids aimed at arresting the shooters in Sidon, warning that its troops will deal “firmly and forcefully with any gunmen who appear on the streets regardless of their affiliation.”
12 November 2012, 12:18
84
"Everyone should get armed, but in a peaceful way."
"Over my dead body should the shia express themselves during their holiest day"
"Saida is ours! I am calling for living together and peace"
“The weapons’ party wants to kill us! let's get weapons!"
"After provoking some backstreet dangerous armed "shabiha" shia they shot at us! I call everyone take up arms against Hezbollah"
"Plunging the country into a civil war? but they put banners!"
That is all I have to say about the situation.
Civilians were terrorized, schools closed, people died, saida became a dangerous area that people avoid when seeking peace of mind and entertainment...These Salifa dogs are the heart of what's wrong in the World! In commemoration of Ashura and the example of personal struggle, patients and fight for justice the Imam of ALL Muslims set. I pray for stability, rational and calm to return back to Saida and all of Lebanon....Labayeka Ya Hussien
12 November 2012, 13:32
36
What you said in addition to the ..."Labayeka Ya Hussien" mentality IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD MY FRIEND.
I hoped you were going to say "Labayka ya Lubnan"
12 November 2012, 17:25
03
Your imam is not the imam of the muslims, sunis are 90 percent of muslims dude. Take your garbage mentality elsewhere. You can celebrate ur ashoura in ur OWN Areas not in suni saida, and not after you killed hariri and wissam el hassan. Your hizzie dogs should stay out of the city.
12 November 2012, 23:19
10
@theresistance, also know that the average Sunni around the world consider the Shia religion as full of bidah and shirk, but we will not attack peaceful Shia. Hussein(ra) was not Shia, in fact you know in your own history that it was his Shia traitor followers that killed Hussein. Instead of Labayeka Ya Hussein, why don't you say Labayeka Ya Allah? Why do you say Hussein more than Allah(swt)? Shirk! Learn Tawheed brother.
12 November 2012, 09:54
61
“Hizbullah on Sunday removed the pictures and banners from the city, escorted by the Lebanese army, but Asir supporters entered the Taamir Ain al-Hilweh neighborhood near the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, tearing up a poster of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and sparking a fight with sticks that soon erupted into gunfire,” AFP reported.
who provoked? who avoided provocation, and who went after who to start a fight? yes, that's right.
12 November 2012, 10:20
41
"HA is provoking by just existing" ? well then, if the existence of HA is a provocation, and you expect them to disappear, be ready for a deception, because this is not going to happen.
12 November 2012, 10:21
61
and no Saida is not overwhelmingly against HA, the sanioura had a very hard time getting elected, the last votes which made the difference went for 4000$ a piece.
12 November 2012, 11:09
30
sorry i confused it with zahle, my wrong. the rest of the results in the south are interesting though, 93.2% in sour, 90.0% in zahrani, 78.6% in hasbaya/marjeyoun, 88.4% in nabatiyeh, 94.2% in bent jbeil, the worst is jezzine with 74.5%.
in comparison, 36% in saida is still impressive :)
12 November 2012, 11:10
30
ps: "another" disappearing act? i never do that, when i'm wrong i have the dignity to admit it. however i get a lot of that from people who are too small to ever admit they are wrong.
12 November 2012, 12:57
30
3a assess, nuff said, and you didnt like seeing the results for the south, but it seems you're back w m7ayyaj. overall 55.5% of Lebanese voted m8, despite the saudi money flood. so how about you suck on that, and we'll see in 2013 if your saudi boy will get any votes in riyadh.
12 November 2012, 17:29
11
How about the murder of hariri, 3eedo, 3eed, al hassan for starters?? Your weapons will kill you, i know you are too donkey to see that. Revenge is coming from Syria, the Syria that your thugs are killing its people.
12 November 2012, 10:20
00
It was bound to happen... Both sides are acting like outlaws... One side, Hizbollah terror gang, the real outlaws, act as if they own the country and the other is sick and tired of it... The worst is yet to come...
12 November 2012, 11:12
30
accordionman: i see where you're coming from, and i know you're answering his claim that "HA setup in the heart of Sunni South" which is not right at all, but allow me to say south lebanon, like the rest of lebanon, is the land of all lebanese, regardless of sect.
12 November 2012, 12:17
00
u can stay argueing for ever,,everybody is seeing the picture from his side,the only viable solution is the ARMY.
hizbzllah can start a civil war , he will defitely not going to lose,but definitely not winning,hassan already lost the sunni hariri and has a sunni wahhaby around him,give all ur arms whether its farsi or wahhaby to the army that is the only DELIVERANCE.
N.B. i am sunni by name, but lebanese by heart,and i dont want to be a refugee somewhere.....
12 November 2012, 15:21
00
shame on Lebanon and the Lebanese.. looking at this man and his followers one is disgusted by all that is Muslim. I am sure that this is the idea behind creating this monster. He sprung put of no where!! Follow the money?? distinguished stench of GAZOLINA
12 November 2012, 20:36
00
I don't agree with Sheikh Assir and his tactics but he and his followers were unarmed...
12 November 2012, 23:00
01
Al Asir is the only Sunni with balls in lebanon
what he did in Saida is way past due and will soon start happening in other places too.
That's the price to pay when you liquidate, threaten and silence moderate Sunnis. Talk crap about salafists as much as you want, their strength today is a result of Shia tyrany and the assassination of moderate Sunnis and once they're done with bashar they will start with the Bekaa and down to the South and even dahyieh. Car bombs, assassinations and the like are coming your way, and don't go blame anyone but yourself.
13 November 2012, 02:24
01
My support for M14 is influenced by their love for life and moderation. Extremism has no place in Lebanon and let us not confuse fanaticism with having Balls. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and as we have already witnessed over 15 years of Civil war Lebanon has become blind and toothless. Let us focus on positive energy and work on building a State. It might seem impossible but it is the winning strategy over the long haul.
13 November 2012, 15:32
00
beautiful words but for a different age and time.
today, he who has balls is the one that is heard.
peaceful sheeps can run and hide in Paris and Saudi...
13 November 2012, 15:30
00
Hahaha this piece of shit (and rightfully so)is going to put the whole south in deep shit. His balls are way bigger than the rat nasrallah. If Saida turns salafist you're going to beg the israelis to occupy your sorry ass again.
13 November 2012, 00:13
00
He found the path to god. anything wrong with that? I wish Aoun would actually believe in God... or Hezbollah. They just take God hostage, label him with a Kalashnikov, nonetheless, the 1947 model.
13 November 2012, 04:44
00
اكد عدم وجود "حصانة على أحد ولا أمن بالتراضي" .. لوووووووووووووووول.
اكبر سخيف Is the one who blv in such stuff!!
wlk Yallaaaaaaaaaaaaa Denye Seybi
