BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah made a rare public appearance yesterday in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs, addressing thousands of his supporters ahead of the Shia Ashura commemorations.
As he appeared on stage wearing a black robe and turban, the crowd seen in a live broadcast on Hezbollah’s Al Manar television began cheering wildly, as they apparently had not expected to see him.
The head of the Shia militant group, whose forces are fighting in Syria alongside the troops of President Bashar Al Assad, usually addresses supporters via video link for fear of assassination by arch-foe Israel.
Nasrallah had not been seen in public since July, when he attended a rally to show support for Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.
Lebanese police will close off the Shia-majority southern suburbs of Beirut for Ashura from midnight until the end of the commemorations. Hezbollah is planning to hold a massive rally in the southern suburbs of Beirut today to mark Ashura, and Nasrallah is due to address the crowds again.AFP
