An influential Lebanese militant leader and cleric called for Sunni Muslims to defect from the army, in a 20-minute tirade posted on YouTube likely to intensify sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shi'ites in Leba**n. Ahmad al-Assir, rumoured to have been killed fighting in neighbouring Syria, has been in hiding since June when the army and Shi'ite militants stormed his base in Sidon, the worst violence there since Leba**n's own 1975-90 civil war. Mixing classical Arabic with Lebanese dialect, Assir called Christian army commander General Jean Kahwaji a "criminal". He asked Lebanese Sunnis in the army, including administrative and relief workers, if they wanted to continue being "partners to the killers and criminals when they commit aggression against our people and brothers in all places".
03-25-2014, 01:07 AM
Lebanese militant leader calls for Sunnis to defect from army
العرض الشجري