Hezbollah leader declares his group has 100,000 fighters

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s Hezbollah person declared for the archetypal clip connected Monday that his almighty militant radical has 100,000 trained fighters. His code appeared to beryllium meant arsenic a deterrent to home foes pursuing the nation’s worst interior unit successful years.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah disclosed the size of the Shiite group’s militant limb successful his archetypal code since 7 radical were killed successful gunbattles connected the streets of Beirut connected Thursday — the worst thoroughfare unit the metropolis has seen successful years. The confrontation erupted implicit a long-running probe into past year’s monolithic larboard blast successful the city.

It is hard to verify the 100,000 fighters fig arsenic Hezbollah is mostly secretive. If true, it would beryllium larger than the size of Lebanon’s equipped forces, estimated astatine astir 85,000.

The code came astatine a clip of heightened hostility successful Lebanon implicit the clashes and the people of the probe into the Aug. 4, 2020 blast successful which implicit 215 radical were killed.

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“We person prepared (those fighters) with their divers weapons to support our territory, our lipid and state that is being robbed earlier the eyes of Lebanese, to support the dignity and sovereignty of our state from immoderate aggression (and) coercion and not for interior fighting,” Nasrallah said.

In his speech, Nasrallah accused the caput of a right-wing Christian party, Samir Geagea, of seeking to ignite civilian warfare successful the tiny country.

Addressing Geagea directly, Nasrallah said: “Don’t miscalculate. Be omniscient and behave. Learn a acquisition from each your wars and each our wars.”

Geagea’s bureau declined to instantly remark precocious Monday.

At the extremity of the country’s 15-year civilian warfare successful 1990, Hezbollah was the lone radical to clasp its weapons. It has fought respective rounds of warfare with Israel and took recognition for Israel's unit withdrawal from the country’s southbound successful 2000. Hezbollah has besides sent its fighters to enactment Syria’s equipped forces successful that country’s decade-long civilian war.

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Hezbollah and its allies person been highly captious of Judge Tarek Bitar, who is successful complaint of the larboard blast investigation, accusing him of being selective and going aft immoderate officials and not others portion seeking to politicize the probe. They asked that helium beryllium removed.

The clashes Thursday came arsenic officials from Hezbollah person suggested the judge’s probe is leaning toward holding them liable for the larboard blast.

Bitar has been criticized by different governmental groups, too, aft helium summoned elder officials arsenic portion of the investigation, including erstwhile ministers and a erstwhile premier minister, and charged them with intentional negligence that led to the deaths of implicit 215 people.

The justice has not publically commented oregon responded to the criticism.

Thursday’s clashes saw gunmen battling each different for respective hours with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades successful the streets of Beirut. It was the astir convulsive confrontation successful the metropolis successful years, echoing the nation’s darkest epoch of the 1975-90 civilian war.

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Nasrallah accused Geagea of “manufacturing” Thursday’s clashes successful the Tayuneh country of the metropolis and described him arsenic a transgression and a killer.

“The existent programme for the Lebanese Forces is civilian war,” Nasrallah said. “The biggest menace to the societal bid successful Lebanon is the Lebanese Forces.”

Nasrallah accused Geagea and his enactment of seeking to scare Lebanon’s Christians implicit Hezbollah’s intentions. He said that's mostly to service overseas countries that person besides made the Shiite radical an enemy, including the United States, Israel and immoderate Gulf states.

Geagea is simply a adjacent state of Saudi Arabia, which is captious of Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Geagea led the Lebanese Forces Christian militia during the 1975-90 civilian warfare and spent much than a decennary successful prison. He was released aft an amnesty pursuing Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon successful 2005. The anti-Syria Geagea present leads the Lebanese Forces governmental party.

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Nasrallah said his radical and its ally, the Amal movement, expect results successful an probe into however the unit broke retired Thursday. He suggested that if the service opened occurrence astatine protesters from the 2 Shiite groups, it should beryllium held accountable.

It wasn't wide from Nasrallah’s code if his radical and Amal are ending their telephone for the removal of the justice — a determination considered by galore arsenic interference successful judicial affairs.

The recently installed authorities has travel to a standstill aft absorption from Hezbollah- and Amal-allied ministers implicit authorities inaction against the judge. The situation is the latest to beset the tiny federation of 6 million, already struggling with 1 of the worst fiscal crises successful the satellite successful the past 150 years.

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Associated Press writers Zeina Karam and Bassem Mroue contributed to this report.

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