Lebanon Mourns Martyrs of Tayouneh Ambush

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The Tayouneh ambush, labeled by some 'a massacre,' left several people martyred and dozens wounded. The victims were brutally killed by snipers who shot them from the rooftops in Tayouneh, Beirut. The victims were peaceful, unarmed protestors, and their martyrdom saw the deployment of the Lebanese national army as cautious calm prevailed in Tayouneh followed by a national day of mourning.

The ceremony of this tragic occasion was attended by the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashim Safi Al-Din. The official said the victims were murdered treacherously, adding that death and killing "do not scare us, and martyrdom is our dignity."

"Not a drop of our martyr's blood will weaken us - they will only pronounce our righteousness," he said, adding that "The blood of our martyrs will always speak volumes in the face of those attempting to cause strife, murderers, and criminals."

He asserted, "We cannot be silent on this bloodshed by any means, and we know how to use our faultlessness and righteousness."

He decried the premeditated massacre, calling the perpetrators "criminals and murderers," for they shot the victims in their heads, attributing the mass murder to the Lebanese Forces party.

"The Lebanese Forces party was aiming to spark a civil war in Lebanon all over again," the top leader said. "We were cautious against disclosing names despite provocation. However, the Lebanese Forces party revealed itself as a perpetrator, and they are not unfamiliar with massacres."

He also blamed the United States for being behind the incident, saying they are pushing LF to spark a civil war in Lebanon. He also accused the Lebanese Forces of executing US orders in exchange for a payroll.

A peaceful demonstration

Yesterday's demonstration was peaceful, as all of the demonstrators were unarmed, and it was a protest against politicizing the probe into the Beirut Blast - "a natural right of ours," Safi Al-Din said. He also cited the participation of lawyers and elite figures in the demonstration to express a righteous position to back his argument.

Safi Al-Din explained that neither Hezbollah nor Amal Movement did not make an open invitation to participate in the demonstration, "Otherwise, the number would have been bigger."

"Had they known we were going into war with them, they would not have dared to carry out their attack," he said. He also denounced certain media outlets for the way they covered the ambush and their narrative.

The security forces informed Hezbollah the situation was under control; therefore, they kept moving, said the official. "What was unforeseen was for a certain party to decide to commit murder using military tactics," he explained.

Safi Al-Din saw that snipers aiming for the head and chest were no coincidence, "It was a planned and premeditated decision."

An Arab-funded US embassy plan

The official said Thursday's events occurred at the direction of the US embassy in Lebanon, and it was funded by certain Arab parties.

Safi Al-Din addressed "the international and regional sponsors" of the attacks, saying they are doomed to fail in dragging the country to war and strife. "The Americans brought all calamities to the world, and they could be thinking of bringing a new calamity to Lebanon," he added.

"We are not to allow the enemies' goals to be achieved, and the Lebanese populace must undertake this responsibility with us," he stressed, urging all the parties in Lebanon to take a stance against the party that wants to drag Lebanon to civil war.

Hashim Safi Al-Din underscored that the murderers must be imprisoned, and any reluctance would be considered complicity. He also compared the threat the 'new American project' poses to that of ISIS and Al-Nusra.

A national tragedy

Seven were martyred in the peaceful demonstrations, where protesters were taking a stance against the politicization of the Beirut Blast probe by Judge Tariq Bitar, as they were calling to dismiss him from the case.

The kin of several martyrs held their funerals today, and Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that bitterness and sadness prevailed in Chiyah due to the treacherous ambush. Despite the feelings of grief and sorrow, the people of Chiyah were still insisting on averting the strife that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war.

Our correspondent to the area reported that three funerals were held, and among them was that of Maryam Farhat, who was shot in her own home by a sniper. 

Al Mayadeen had the chance to interview martyr Farhat's sister, who told us they find pride in the title of 'martyr': "We, the popular base of the resistance, are proud of our martyrs."

She pointed to the peaceful aspect of the demonstration, denouncing the perpetrators who attempted to turn it into a civil war.

A heartbreaking aspect of this massacre is the despair of the relatives and friends of the victims, something martyr Farhat's sister reflected on when she highlighted the state of shock her nephews and nieces are in, demanding justice for her sister and the latter's children.

Al Mayadeen also interviewed the father of martyr Mostafa Zbeeb, who was fatally shot in the chest. "My son was peacefully participating in the demonstration, and he was shot directly in the heart," he said.

One of the martyr's friends told Al Mayadeen, "Terrorists treacherously killed the participants in the peaceful Thursday demonstration," adding that "a martyr is a martyr for the country, and these are Lebanon's honor."

A source in the Lebanese National Army revealed that the security forces arrested eight people and that several of them admitted to planning the Tayouneh ambush. Hezbollah and Amal Movement accused the Lebanese Forces of being behind the armed assault carried out against the protestors.