State Commissioner to the Military Court receives death threat from Assir partisan

A masked person threatened on Friday to murder the State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr.

The threat came during the massive protests that commenced in the city of Sidon following Friday prayers on the backdrop of a religious sermon delivered by the new Imam of Bilal Bin Rabah mosque Sheikh Mohammad Abou Zeid.

Reports said the Imam had failed to mention Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir in his speech, thus triggering a wave of anger among the attenders.

The Lebanese security apparatuses were able to reveal his identity, identifying him as "Ayman Mesto", a partisan of one of the hardline Islamist organizations who was arrested in Roumieh prison.

The security apparatuses also launched investigations as a prelude to his arrest.

Fighting in Sidon city began Sunday (23 June) after troops arrested a follower of hardline Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir.

The army says the cleric's supporters opened fire without provocation on an army checkpoint.

Official reports said at least 17 soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in the fighting while more than 20 of al-Assir's supporters died in the battle, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.

Al-Assir is a virulent critic of the powerful Shiite group Hezbollah group, which along with its allies dominates Lebanon's government.

He supports rebels fighting to oust Syria's President Bashar Assad.

The fighting between troops and armed supporters of al-Assir have transformed the city, which had been largely spared the violence plaguing border areas near Syria, into a combat zone.