Beirut sniper who killed protesters works for the US Embassy
The sniper who opened fire at peaceful demonstrators in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has been identified as a US embassy employee.
A senior Lebanese journalist
has posted the images of the US embassy staff saying he was one of the snipers
who opened fire at supporters of Hezbollah and Amal movements who were marching
peacefully towards the Palace of Justice in central Beirut.
In a
post on his twitter account on Friday, Hosein Mortada released a photo of
Shukri Abu Saab, a member of the Lebanese security forces and a US embassy
employee, and said he had been one of the snipers involved in the recent deaths
in Beirut.
On Thursday, at least seven
people were killed and 60 others injured after unknown gunmen attacked
Hezbollah and Amal supporters as they passed through Beirut’s Teyouneh traffic
circle dividing Christian and Shia Muslim neighborhoods.
The demonstrators had taken to
the streets of Lebanese capital to protest against the politicization of a
judicial investigation into the 2020 port blast that devastated swathes of
Beirut and left over 200 people dead.
In a statement, Hezbollah and
Amal said armed groups affiliated with Samir Geagea's Christian Lebanese Forces
(LF) Party fired at the protesters from rooftops, aiming at their heads, in an
attempt to drag the country into new sectarian strife.
Speaking at the funeral of
victims of Thursday’s shootings, senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine said
what happened in Beirut "was part of measures managed by the US embassy in
Lebanon and funded by some Arab parties."
