Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday ordered the arrest of armed men who took part in a religious gathering in Beirut.
Videos circulated online showed hundreds of people gathered in the Lebanese capital to mark Ashura, the commemoration by Shiite Muslims of the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein bin Ali, in the 7th century.
Men dressed in black and carrying automatic weapons are seen leading chants of the Imam's name and carrying red banners that said "Ya Hussein". They are suspected to be supporters of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite armed group and political party.
“I have contacted the Ministers of Interior and Justice and requested them to take all necessary measures to enforce the applicable laws, arrest the perpetrators, and refer them for investigation,” Mr Salam said on X.
The Prime Minister said “armed demonstrations in Beirut are unacceptable under any pretext, shape or form".
Member of Parliament Ghassan Hasbani, a former deputy prime minister, said the government had to take a firm stance against the show of weapons in the capital, especially during demonstrations.
Security officials must enforce laws, confiscate weapons, and arrest those carrying them, Mr Hasbani said in a television interview on Friday evening.
Ashura commemorations in Beirut are usually held in its southern suburbs, the area known as Dahieh that is home to many Shiite Muslims and where Hezbollah enjoys strong support. The gatherings draw large crowds and are seen as a demonstration by Hezbollah of its strong following.
Another member of Parliament, Ibrahim Mneimneh, said holding weapons in areas across in Beirut is "unjustifiable".
"We call on the judiciary and security authorities to act immediately and arrest everyone that appeared in the online videos and refer them to investigation," he said on X.
"Beirut, today more than ever is in dire need of enforcing security and the removal of weapons outside the state control," he said.
The Ashura commemorations this year come as Hezbollah is under pressure to disarm as the government seeks to remove weapons from all non-state actors. The group's top political and military leadership was killed and a large part of its arsenal destroyed during more than a year of war with Israel that ended with a ceasefire agreement in November. Under the terms of the US-brokered truce, all armed groups in Lebanon must disarm.
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
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12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
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