Opposition rally turns violent in northern Lebanon
Sun Nov 27, 2011 11:26PM
Altaf Ahmed, Press TV, Lebanese City of Tripoli
A rally organized by the Lebanese March 14 movement was held in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. The organizers called the rally the “Festival of Independence” and the Cedar Revolution under the theme "Fall of Arms... Spring of Independence”. Slogans against the Syrian leadership and its ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, were mostly heard in the rally.
This event was not totally absent from violence as March 14 supporters opened random fire injuring four Lebanese civilians.
As many of March 14th are hoping for the downfall of the Syrian leadership, this comes as there is talk of trying to put Lebanon into a new role in the Syrian file.
Supporters of Bashar Assad, who represent a significant percentage in Lebanon as well, accuse the March 14 alliance of being part of a foreign conspiracy against Syria. This group puts the events in Syria within the framework of a wider plot to target Iran and Hezbollah as well as the Assad leadership after this axis made significant regional gains recently.
This event follows a meeting which was held just a few days ago in Paris between the leader of the March 14 movement Saad Hariri and French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has probably been the most vocal international anti-Assad voice. It also coincides with reports of British and French intelligence officers providing military training to opposers of the Assad regime in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
