Lebanon: Former Speaker Hussein Husseini Dead at 86

Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein Al-Husseini. NNA
Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein Al-Husseini. NNA
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Lebanon: Former Speaker Hussein Husseini Dead at 86

Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein Al-Husseini. NNA
Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein Al-Husseini. NNA

Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein Al-Husseini died on Wednesday at the age of 86.

"Today Lebanon has lost an authentic national and constitutional figure,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.

He announced a three-day official mourning, during which flags will fly at half-mast.

Husseini was one of the founders of Amal Movement and a main contributor to the brokering of the Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese Civil War in 1990.

He first became an MP representing Baalbek-Hermel in 1972. He was elected Speaker in 1984 and remained in this post until 1992.

Following Husseini’s death, Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned a parliamentary session, which was scheduled to be held on Thursday to elect a new president, to January 19.



Syrian Opposition March Through the Capital in a Show of Force

A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
TT

Syrian Opposition March Through the Capital in a Show of Force

A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
A drone view of a military parade held by Khaled Brigade, a part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

Hundreds of members of the main opposition group that overthrew former President Bashar Assad from power marched through the streets of the capital in a show of force.
The fighters with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, gathered at the Abbasiyeen square on Friday afternoon before driving vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns through different neighborhoods of Damascus.
The show of force by HTS came days after members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect protested in different parts of the country, leading to exchanges of fire in some areas.
Until Assad’s fall earlier this month, Alawites held senior positions in the military and security agencies in Syria. HTS fighters are Sunni Muslims who are the majority sect in the country.