Friday, 14 August 2015

Lebanon villagers attack Syrians after Hezbollah death

BEIRUT – Residents of south Lebanon’s Aytroun attacked Syrian refugees after a Hezbollah fighter from the border village was killed fighting in Syria’s Zabadani.

 

“An altercation took place yesterday night in the village of Aytroun
that led to the injury of 11 Syrians,” a security source told Lebanese daily An-Nahar Wednesday.

“As soon as news emerged of the death of [local] Hezbollah member
Hassan Hussein Awwada… residents of his village became enraged and took out took out their anger on several Syrian refugees,” the newspaper said.

 

“They were all taken to The Martyr Salah Ghandour Hospital in Bint
Jbeil for treatment.”
 

According to separate report by Lebanese website Janoubia, Awwada’s “relatives and friends decided to make the lives of Syrian refugees in their village hell” after the news of his death emerged.

 

“They blamed them for the death of their son in Syria just because they were Syrians.”

 

“The Syrian refugees were assaulted and attacked as vengeance for the soul of the ‘martyr,’ and when they tried to defend themselves the altercation between the two sides took place.”

 

“It led to the injury of eleven Syrians, who were taken to a local hospital.”

Rebel’s holding Awwada’s body

 

The ire of Aytroun residents was reportedly raised by the fact that Awwada’s body was being held by rebels in Zabadani and not returned to his hometown.


According to Janoubia, pro-Hezbollah outlets reported that the fighters body had “been retained, joining the body of fighter Ali Ismail, which in turn, has been retained by the Syrian opposition.”

 

Pro-Hezbollah Facebook page “From Assad’s Syria Thank You Men of God in Lebanon” posted a picture of what it said were Awwada’s belongings after they were posted online by Al-Nusra Front.

 

“Your prayers for the return of martyr Hassan Awwada’s body,” the
caption above the post read.

 

“The second picture is from Al-Nusra Front’s page. They posted pictures of the martyr and some of his belongings.”

 

The pro-Hezbollah page also included a picture of Awwada before his death.

 

“We have refrained from publishing a picture of the martyr’s body out
of respect for the feelings of the martyrs family and his friends,” the post explained.

 

Hezbollah and the Syrian army’s crack 4th Armored Division have been battling rebels in Zabadani since July 5, making gradual territorial gains in the face of fierce resistance that has left dozens dead from the Shiite Lebanese party.

 

On August 12, a ceasefire settled over Zabadani after Turkey and Iran reportedly brokered an agreement to end the fighting in the border town in return for Islamist rebels stopping their bombardment of a Shiite enclave in Idlib.

 

The Army of Conquest rebel coalition in mid-July launched an offensive on the the two towns of Fuaa and Kafriyeh in retaliation for the assault on Zabadani, leaving a number of Shiite civilians dead.  

 

The Shiite-populated towns—where Hezbollah has reportedly coordinated defensive measures—have not fallen to rebels who seized the vast majority of the rest of the province in early June.



posted from Bloggeroid

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