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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Shiite army officer was in charge during Mar Mikhael riots |
| 2008-01-31 |
| Initial testimony about Sunday's deadly riots in Beirut showed that the Lebanese army officer who was in charge of the Mar Mikhael post where protests originally broke out was a Shiite Muslim and that the building where the shooting occurred lies in the Chiah district. The name of the Shiite officer was not released but he is from Jubail ( Byblos). The report carried by the daily An Nahar on Wednesday said there was no need for additional military back up at the beginning when the protest was still restricted to a small activity by a group of young men who blocked the road opposite the army post with burning tires. It said troops manning the position informed the protesters that they were going to remove the tires and reopen the road. But the protesters responded by tossing stones and sticks at soldiers, wounding one of them, according to the report. It said other rioters, meanwhile, tried to disarm a trooper and attempted to climb on top of an armored vehicle. The army then fired warning shots in the air to disperse the protesters, the report added. It said it was at that point that shooting came from the neighboring Chiah district where army vehicles received several bullet riddles, prompting troops to fire back. Several people were wounded in the shooting, the report said. It said the building where the shooting occurred is located in Chiah and not at Ein el-Rummaneh where it was originally thought. |
| Posted by:Fred |