“What happened today in Sidon went beyond all expectations,” the army said in a harshly worded statement. “The army was targeted in a cold-blooded and deliberate attack.”
It said six soldiers, including three officers, had been killed in the attack, with 19 others injured. The statement evoked comparisons to Lebanon in 1975, the year of a fishermen’s strike in Sidon that is considered by many to have been a key incident in setting the fuse for civil war. The National News Agency, which said rocket-propelled grenades and mortars were fired in the clashes, later increased the army death toll to 10, with 35 soldiers injured.
The army said Sunday’s fighting began when supporters of Assir launched an unprovoked attack on one of its checkpoints in the city’s Abra suburb. Assir said in a statement that soldiers at the checkpoint had beaten up two of his supporters before opening fire on others who went to their assistance. The army later besieged his mosque with heavy artillery, he said.
The clashes caused panic in the normally sleepy southern city, sending residents fleeing for safety. The army had surrounded Assir’s mosque in the early hours Monday morning, with the cleric believed to be holed up inside. Two Sunni gunmen also were killed in the fighting.
Assir posted a video online Sunday saying he was under attack from the army and called for Sunni soldiers to defect. He lambasted the armed forces as working at the behest of the Iranians and Hezbollah and urged Sunnis to block roads in solidarity.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called for an emergency meeting with ministers and security officials Monday to discuss how to contain the violence. He said Assir’s calls for “jihad” against the military served only Lebanon’s enemies.
In Lebanon, as many as 10 soldiers are killed as violence spills over from Syria war - The Washington Post