Thousands gather in Beirut against Hezbollah's weapons

Tens of thousands camp out at Martyrs Square to show support for pro-Western March 14 alliance, demand Hezbollah give up its weapons.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
lebanese flag beirut_311 reuters (photo credit: Jamal Saidi / Reuters)
lebanese flag beirut_311 reuters
(photo credit: Jamal Saidi / Reuters)
Tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens on Sunday demonstrated at Beirut's Martyrs Square to demand that the Hezbollah-led alliance relinquish its weapons, reported Lebanese news source Naharnet.
According to the report, thousands of people camped at the square after midnight to secure a spot close to the podium from where leaders of the pro-Western March 14 alliance, headed by Sa'ad Hariri, were expected to speak to crowds.
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The March 14 leadership asked supporters to carry Lebanese flags in an expression of solidarity marking exactly six years since the "Cedar Revolution" protest which the alliance deemed was an example of "peaceful, democratic" change in the Arab world, Naharnet reported.
Hariri's Future News channel reportedly broadcast a short video showing a Hezbollah member climbing a pole, taking down a Lebanese flag and replacing it with the group's yellow flag.
Another video showed gunmen shooting Lebanese troops, with the tagline: "We want no army in Lebanon but the Lebanese army."
Red billboards across the capital encouraged supporters of Hariri to march through Beirut carrying posters reading: "NO to assassinations," "NO to oppression" and "NO to the rule of arms."
Naharnet said another billboard, which no party has yet endorsed, surfaced in the capital, reading: "Israel too wants to topple arms."