Miqati Picture Burned, Hizbullah Warned in Tripoli Anti-Assad Demo
Some 150 Lebanese and Syrian protesters gathered in the northern city of Tripoli Friday to demand Syria's President Bashar al-Assad step down and warning his Lebanese ally, Hizbullah, that it would be next.
Chanting "Down with Bashar al-Assad" and "Your turn is next, Hizbullah," they gathered outside the local Qubba mosque before making their way through the densely populated city.
The rally, organized by a local Islamic group, called for Lebanon to withdraw its ambassador from Syria and demanded that Prime Minister Najib Miqati, himself a Tripoli native, step down.
Protesters also burned pictures of the premier.
The protest comes days after Lebanon voted against suspending Damascus from the 22-member Arab League, siding with Yemen and Syria.
The vote further escalated an already heated feud between the country's anti-Assad opposition, led by ex-premier Saad Hariri, and Miqati's government, which has justified the step by saying Lebanon was against "isolating" any Arab country.
Tripoli has regularly been the scene of clashes between Sunnis and minority Alawite Muslims, who are loyal to the fellow Alawite Assad family.
Assad's troops have cracked down on protests against the regime in Syria, killing more than 3,500 people in eight months, according to U.N. figures, and triggering a torrent of international condemnation.
Source: Agence France Presse
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