REPORT: Citizens attack Sheikh Assir and Sheikh Rafei’s convoys

                        
The Sheikh of Imam Bilal bin Rabah mosque Ahmad Assir arrived on Sunday to the Martyrs Square in Beirut to participate in the sit-in held by the Islamist detainees' relatives committee.                             

During the sit-in Sheikh Assir considered that the detention of the Islamist detainees for more than 6 years without trial is an unfair sentence, and called on the President Michel Sleiman to free them.                                     

“We mistrust the military tribunal investigations”, he added.                                          

Al Assir stressed that the sit-in will not be the last one and that he will keep on standing against oppression that takes its toll on the detainees. 
                                     
“It is not our last sit-in and we will keep on sparing you oppression at all costs”, Al Assir said.                                    

After enforcing security measures, these measures were eliminated in the Dora region in order to have a normal traffic pace.                                    

As for the speeches delivered during the sit-in, they tackled solely the detainees’ case.                                  

It is worth noting that a number of citizens attacked Sheikh Assir’s convoy as it inched through Zkak el Blat region on his way back to Sidon.               

In this context, sources told LBCI that one car among Sheikh Salem Rafei’s convoy was hit by stones at the Salim Slam region.                 

On May 19, 2007, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) surrounded a group of Fatah al-Islam militants accused of taking part in a bank robbery earlier that day.                  

The ISF attacked the building the next day, unleashing a day long battle between the ISF and Fatah al-Islam militants on 200 Street, Tripoli.                

As a response, members of Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp attacked an army checkpoint, killing several soldiers in their sleep. The army immediately responded.                               

The conflict between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam ended on Sunday September 2, 2007 with the Lebanese Army taking full control of the camp after eliminating the remaining terrorist pockets.                                

168 Lebanese army soldiers and 226 militants were killed in the 105 day conflict. Between 400 and 500 soldiers had been wounded and more than 215 militants had been captured.                      

President of the Judicial Council Judge Jean Fahd set Friday 8th of February 2013, a date to start preliminary interrogations of Islamist detainees in the case of the Nahr el-Bared incidents paving the way to start trials before the Council.


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