 Pegs normally used to keep the village of tents standing at the protest on Martyrs' Square were turned into weapons Sunday night when a fight broke out between supporters of the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement. Eyewitnesses said a supporter of exiled former Army Commander General Michel Aoun known as "the terminator" had instigated the scuffle.
| Sounds like a pleasant fellow, doesn't he? |
The witnesses explained that at approximately 9:30 p.m. the youth began swearing at a group of LF supporters who were in the midst of a "political discussion" with followers of the Phalange Party, and was heard to say: "You will never evolve and you will not become human any time soon."
| Wrong thing to say to a Neanderthal... |
A verbal argument ensued between "the terminator" and the LF supporters, which by all accounts was a minor affair until another camper, a teenage girl, attempted to photograph the argument. The LF supporters reportedly began shouting at the girl to stop taking pictures and tried to approach her, but were blocked by "the terminator," who stepped in front of the young woman and pulled out a knife. With "the terminator" advancing with a knife in hand, the LF supporters pulled out the tent pegs as weapons. Members of the Lebanese Army patrolling the sit-in at Martyrs' Square eventually got involved as the fight got out of hand and separated those involved. Two youths, Mohammad Wehbe and Antranik Tabourian, were slightly injured in the scuffle and taken to the St. George Hospital for treatment, while four members of the FPM were arrested by police and had their tents searched. Despite the clash, protesters at the camp are unshaken by the event and call the incident "a silly quarrel between children." |