عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Sit-in Held in Beirut in Solidarity with Anti-Hezbollah Shiite Cleric

Cleric Ali Al-Amin (NNA)
Cleric Ali Al-Amin (NNA)
TT
TT

Sit-in Held in Beirut in Solidarity with Anti-Hezbollah Shiite Cleric

Cleric Ali Al-Amin (NNA)
Cleric Ali Al-Amin (NNA)

Religious and media figures held a sit-in on Tuesday in solidarity with anti-Hezbollah cleric Ali al-Amin, who has been taken to court for participating in late 2019 in a meeting in Bahrain that was allegedly attended by Israelis.

The lawsuit was filed in June 2020 by lawyer Ghassan al-Mawla on behalf of Nabih Awada, Khalil Nasrallah, Shawqi Awada and Hussein al-Dirani against al-Amin for “meeting with Israeli officials in Bahrain, attacks on the Resistance and its martyrs, inciting strife between sects, sowing discord and sedition, and violating the Sharia laws of the Jaafari sect.”

Al-Amin’s questioning was scheduled to take place on Tuesday at the Justice Palace in Beirut, but it was postponed due to a strike by lawyers.

Religious and media figures had gathered outside the Justice Palace in solidarity with the cleric ahead of the planned questioning.

They raised banners supporting al-Amin and saying that violent messages do not silence the voice of freedom.

Kataeb Party chief Sami Gemayel expressed his solidarity with al-Amin “and support for his free and open mind in the face of oppression and close-minded people.”

He added: “We will not accept intimidation, and we will bring down the police state and the militias behind it.”

Last year, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri condemned the lawsuit filed against the cleric as “an attack on the dignity of Lebanese.”

The Mustaqbal movement leader in a tweet said that Amin “is a representative of national and Islamic unity and the attack on his dignity is an attack on all Muslims and Christians.”

Al-Amin has said he held no personal meeting with any Israeli at the conference, and that he “was not aware of their attendance.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

3 Members of Syrian Security Forces Killed in Clashes with Regime Remnants in Daraa

Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.
Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.
TT
TT

3 Members of Syrian Security Forces Killed in Clashes with Regime Remnants in Daraa

Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.
Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.

Three members of the Syrian Internal Security Forces and a member of local armed groups were killed in clashes between the country’s new authorities and former military security forces affiliated with the ousted regime in the town of al-Sanamayn in the southern Daraa governorate.

Civilians, including women and children, were wounded in the unrest.

Military reinforcements arrived in the town on Wednesday morning to “raid outlawed armed groups,” a statement from Daraa authorities said, citing Internal Security official Abdul-Razzaq al-Khatib.

“The clashes remain intense in several buildings in the southwestern district of the city,” Khatib said, adding that a security officer was wounded in a direct gunfire attack on a checkpoint in the town on Tuesday.

Gunfights have been reported across Syria since the new authorities took power in Damascus on Dec. 8, with security officials blaming loyalists of the former regime for the unrest.

The authorities have launched security operations targeting what they describe as “remnants of the former regime,” leading to arrests, according to official statements.

Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the biggest challenges for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, following a devastating civil war that began in 2011 and saw multiple factions involved.

The local news outlet Daraa 24 reported that the deceased were associated with a group led by Mohsen al-Himid, a former operative of the military security branch under the Assad regime.

Al-Himid’s group had been actively involved in the clashes, making them potential targets in the ongoing cycle of retaliatory attacks and factional violence in the region.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group “considers itself above the law” and has continued to defy state authority while committing serious crimes, including murder, armed robbery, theft, kidnapping for ransom, and drug trafficking.

Residents have long called for a crackdown on such gangs, particularly since the fall of the Assad regime, in a bid to rid their communities of groups that “terrorize the population, spread corruption, and destroy society,” the sources added.

The number of outlawed armed groups still operating in parts of Daraa is small, but they continue to fuel insecurity and fear among residents, sources familiar with the situation said.

“The government is determined to restore security and stability across the governorate,” one source told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that these groups are “not factions but criminal gangs.”

Most armed factions, the source noted, have already integrated into the Ministry of Defense.

The Internal Security Forces had launched a security campaign on Feb. 20 targeting remnants of the former regime, as well as drug and arms traffickers.

The operation has also sought to confiscate illegal weapons in the Daraa towns of al-Harah and Nimr, in an effort to tighten security.