A year after the Oct. 14, 2021 Tayyouneh clashes in southern Beirut, a building is still riddled with bullets. (Credit: Anne-Marie El Hage/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT – Senior Amal Movement official Moustafa al-Fouani spoke Friday during the first anniversary of the Oct.14 Tayyouneh clashes to accuse "those who shot" at his party members of "wishing to turn the clocks backward to [civil] war times."
On Oct.14, 2021, at least seven people died and more than 30 were injured during heated clashes with sectarian overtones between protestors from Amal and Hezbollah and residents of Ain al-Remmaneh, rumored to be close to the Lebanese Forces.
A senior Lebanese Army member told L'Orient-Le Jour that the army shot at Amal and Hezbollah later on during the fight.
In a statement, Fouani — who called the clashes "an indescribable crime" — said, "the organizers and implementers [of the clashes] are supposed to be partners in the country but still live in the past, and their treachery and deception is more powerful than their nationalistic belonging."
Before the clashes started last year, protestors from Amal and Hezbollah gathered in front of the Justice Palace, located a short distance from Tayyouneh, to demand the removal of the current head of the Aug. 4, 2020, port blast investigation, Judge Tarek Bitar.
Bitar is currently suspended from his duties due to a number of pending removal requests submitted by senior officials, including Amal Movement MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, who are summoned for questioning in the investigation.
In his statement, Fouani also said his party members were "only protesting against the bias of another, unjust judge wanting to destroy the judiciary and exploding the country for the sake of achieving political ambitions."
Earlier this week, the last detainees who participated in the clashes were released on bail.