Tens of thousands of Lebanese have attended an annual mass to commemorate Christian fighters killed in the 1975-90 civil war and to hear a speech by the Lebanese Forces party leader, Samir Geagea. Crowds flocked to a cathedral in Harissa, north of Beirut, to attend the mass on Sunday.
| “We are the victors because it was us who were demanding the army's deployment in south Lebanon, backed by Unifil, while they were opposed...” |
The rally came two days after hundreds of thousands attended a demonstration in Beirut organised by the Shia Muslim militia, Hezbollah, to celebrate what it called its recent "victory" over Israel in the month-long conflict.
Geagea said: "We are the victors, and yet we do not feel it was victory but rather that a real catastrophe befell our country, and that our fate and destiny are at the mercy of the winds." Supporters waved his picture, and the white, red and green flags of the Lebanese Forces as the party leader spoke at the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Harissa. "We are the victors because it was us who were demanding the [Lebanese] army's deployment [in south Lebanon], backed by Unifil [peacekeepers], while they were opposed," he said without naming Hezbollah. |