The Lebanese Armed Forces handed over on Saturday Bilal bin Rabah mosque to a delegation of Muslim clerics in Sidon.
In this context, Sidon Mufti Sheikh Salim Sousan asserted that the mosque will be reopened in the future, noting that Sheikh Mohammad Abou Zeid will become the new imam of the mosque.
Sheikh Sousan added that the LAf and Sidon's officials will cooperate to restore peace and order in the city.
For his part, the head of
the Popular Nasserite Organization Osama
Saad called on the caretaker cabinet to hold an urgent session to discuss the incidents which took place in Sidon last week and their repercussions on the national
level, urging the Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani to issue
a decision banning weapons inside mosques.
In turn, the Association of Muslim Scholars held a
press conference at Hamza mosque in the city of Sidon, where it stressed that “referring
a number of LAF members to the investigations is not enough, but what is
required is their referral to the criminal judiciary on charges of attempted
murder.”
The Muslim Scholars noted that they were keen on
controlling the situation on the street and have repeatedly warned the city’s
residents against entering in fights with the Lebanese army.
On another note, sources told LBCI that 29 detainees who were arrested following Sidon's incidents have been released, while 39 others remained under arrest.
This comes as the workshop of removing cars and rubbles started in front of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir's security complex in Sidon's Abra.
It is worth mentioning that the decision of removing cars and rubble was taken following a series of meetings with the Union of municipalities and heads of Sidon and Abra municipalities.
Fighting in Sidon city began Sunday after troops arrested an al-Assir follower.
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.
For the full report please click on the VIDEO above
Next
Lebanon’s State Security hails troops’ efforts in new year security plan