Judge Saqr asks for indictment of 72 people in Abra case

        
The State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr asked on Saturday for the indictment of 72 people in the Abra case, including Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and former singer Fadel Shaker.         

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 speak to reporters.          

Al-Assir is a virulent critic of the powerful Shiite Hezbollah group, which along with its allies dominates Lebanon's government. He supports rebels fighting to oust Syria's President Bashar Assad.