A unit of the Lebanese Armed Forces deployed on Friday in the Mikssar-Abed region near the Hariri mosque in Sidon, in anticipation of the possible mobilization of supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al Assir. The sit-in in support of the fugitive Imam of the Bilal bin Rabah mosque Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir kicked off after Friday prayers, despite a decision taken by the security council of the South on Wednesday to thwart such demonstrations outside Sidon's Bilal bin Rabah Mosque. Contacts intensified on Thursday to impede the rally, but one of the clerics at the mosque asserted that the demonstration will be held. On Sunday 23th of June, fighting in Sidon city began after Lebanese Armed Forces 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 2 day 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. Al-Assir escaped the scene of the clashes and remains in hiding up to this day. He has since released a number of voice recordings indicating his well-being and determination for revenge from what he views as the infidel forces of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.
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