Asir, Supporters Rally in Central Sidon after Being Prevented from Heading to al-Karameh Roundabout

Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and his supporters staged a sit-in Sunday at Nejmeh Square in central Sidon after security forces prevented them from heading to al-Karameh roundabout, where the protest was initially scheduled to be held.

The sit-in was held amid strict security measures enforced by the army and the Internal Security Forces, state-run National News Agency reported.

"The state's practices against us increase our determination to carry on with our protests until all demands are fulfilled, especially the evacuation of the tenants of the two apartments operated by Hizbullah and loaded with weapons in Abra," Asir said during the sit-in.

Asir and his supporters had also rallied on Friday and Saturday near the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in the Sidon suburb of Abra to protest claims that Hizbullah rented apartments in the vicinity of the mosque.

On Sunday, army units and the ISF blocked all roads leading to Abra and diverted traffic to Sidon's western boulevard as a security precaution, NNA said.

MTV said the army closed all roads in Abra with military vehicles ahead of the protest.

“The army has encircled al-Karameh roundabout in Sidon and prevented vehicles coming from outside the city from approaching it,” LBCI television reported.

“We're determined to hold a sit-in at al-Karameh roundabout and we will head there on foot if we were prevented from moving forward,” sources close to al-Asir told LBCI.

Later, LBCI said Asir and his supporters blocked the road at Nejmeh Square.

“We reject the security siege and media blackout,” Asir said during Saturday's protest.

The army has deployed heavily near Asir's Bilal bin Rabah mosque in Abra.

Last week, the anti-Hizbullah cleric urged officials and authorities to force the evacuation of apartments allegedly inhabited by Hizbullah gunmen near his mosque to avert a possible “strife or any dangerous incident.”

“Iran's weapons in Sidon on Friday were ready to be used but the judiciary and the higher defense council failed to see that,” Asir told supporters on Saturday.

He slammed the unbalanced policies in Lebanon, saying “everyone in the country has the right to express his opinion but us.”

“We will not give up on our right to live in dignity... We will escalate our measures if our demands weren't met,” Asir said.

He has accused Hizbullah of “renting apartments” in the vicinity of his mosque in Abra, east of Sidon, with the aim of “monitoring” his movements.

“Recently, the mosque's neighbors, and we're among them, noticed some rented apartments that are inhabited by young men who are not residents of the area, and the neighbors thought that they are students,” Asir has said, adding that “a dispute happened recently and heavily armed young men came out of these rented apartments and threatened the neighbors.”

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday hinted that the party will not tolerate the evacuation of any of its offices in Sidon and its suburbs.

“We have a lot of allies in Sidon, especially in the Sunni sect. But thousands of Shiites have been residing in Sidon since hundreds of years, do they need a permission now? We were among those who fought to liberate Sidon and the South and we have offices, houses, mosques and complexes in Sidon since 30 years."

"We had offices in Abra before the (Bilal bin Rabah) mosque was built. Where will these insults lead us? We have not responded to these insults and will not be dragged to such insults. No one will launch a military response against any insults and I stress to our supporters that it is haram to respond to any insults," he added.

"Some parties must shoulder their responsibilities and we are extremely keen on civil peace, but no one should make wrong calculations. We do not want to threaten anyone or storm anyone's house and we're only concerned with raising our preparedness in the face of the Israeli enemy," Nasrallah went on to say.