LEBANON: Two protests take place in Beirut, one supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and another separated by barricades supporting Syria's opposition

Record ID: 280389

  • Title: LEBANON: Two protests take place in Beirut, one supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and another separated by barricades supporting Syria's opposition
  • Date: 5th March 2012
  • Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (MARCH 4, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN WITH RIOT SHIELDS STANDING IN A SQUARE IN BEIRUT AT THE SIDE WHERE THE ANTI-ASSAD PROTEST IS BEING HELD VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS BEHIND BARBED WIRE IN THE SIDE WHERE THE PRO-ASSAD DEMO IS TAKING PLACE GROUP OF PROTESTERS STANDING AND CHANTING ANTI-ASSAD CHANTS ANTI-ASSAD PROTESTERS WAVING OLD SYRIAN FLAG VARIOU
  • Embargoed: 20th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADPJ2E1M5HX5YDO1NBBUXOS2LL
  • Story Text: Divided by a 40 meter barrier and tens of security forces, two protests took place in Beirut on Sunday (March 4) -- one in support of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and one against him.
    On one side of Beirut's Martyrs Square, hundreds of supporters of the Sunni Salafist movement in Lebanon chanted anti-Assad slogans, burning pictures of him and stamping on it.
    ''We are here to protest in support of justice against injustice and to send a clear message that we are peaceful and that we are against oppression wherever it maybe and we are with our brothers in Syria because they are being oppressed,'' said Abu Obeida, one of the protesters.
    The anti-Assad protest was called for by a cleric from the southern city of Sidon who goes by the name ''Al Sheikh al-Aseer.'' On the other side of Martyrs Square, there was another protest underway. This time by supporters of Assad, both Syrian and Lebanese nationals, most of them from the Baath Party.
    They burnt pictures of the Saudi King Abdullah, chanting: ''We sacrifice our blood and soul, for you Bashar.'' ''They came to us and asked us to go to the protest and we said yes and we have been here since six in the morning until now and our blood is boiling we want to say with our blood and soul we die for you Bashar," said one protester who gave his name as Mohammad.
    The crisis in Syria has divided Lebanese as much as Martyrs Square was divided on Sunday.
    The Shi'ite group Hezbollah and its allies support Assad, while mainly Sunni Islamist groups and the Future Movement led by the ex-prime minister Saad Hariri and the March 14 alliance have voiced support for the uprising against Assad.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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