First Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghaida on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against radical Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir, whose militants engaged last month in fierce clashes with the Lebanese army.
The judge also issued an arrest warrant against retired singer Fadel Shaker, who participated in the clashes, and against six other fugitives.
Last month, the LAF seized control of Assir’s headquarters after his supporters battled the army for two days, leaving 18 soldiers dead. Assir and Shaker have been at large since.
Last week, an audio message purportedly recorded by Assir was published on YouTube in which he says that he will return to raise “the flag of righteousness.”
Assir has been at the center of controversy for months, notably after causing disturbances in Sidon following claims that gunmen affiliated with the Shiite party Hezbollah were deployed in apartments near his mosque in Abra.
He was virtually unknown before the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, but gained a name for himself with public and increasingly vitriolic criticism of the powerful Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/judge-issues-arrest-warrants-against-assir-fadl-shaker
