Hezbollah leader, who has been in hiding since 2006, greets crowds in Beirut; shows support for Syria's Assad.
By REUTERSHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah seen in public (R) 311(photo credit: REUTERS/ Issam Kobeisy)
BEIRUT - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose backers Syria and Iran are at the center of heightened regional tension, made a rare public appearance on Tuesday marking the Shi'ite Muslim festival of Ashura and said his group was building up its arsenal.Surrounded by armed bodyguards, Nasrallah walked through a crowd of Shi'ites in Beirut's southern suburbs, Hezbollah's stronghold. He greeted tens of thousands of supporters from the podium before disappearing for a few minutes to give his speech via a giant screen.RELATED:Analysis: Regional threats too strong to ignore signs of warNetanyahu to Nasrallah: Stay in your bunkerLebanese rockets - an indirect message?Nasrallah's comments came as Syria launched a Scud B missile on Sunday, a show of strength by the embattled Assad regime.Nasrallah, who has been in hiding for fear of assassination since 2006, struck a defiant note in his speech, giving no sign that his allies' troubles were affecting Hezbollah, which has an armed wing and a political movement."Every day we are growing in number, our training is getting better, we are becoming more confident and our weapons are increasing," he said. "If anyone is betting that our weapons are rusting, we (say) no, we replace our rusting weapons."Nasrallah told the crowd his public appearance was a message to those "who believe they can threaten us."He reiterated his support for his Syrian ally, President Bashar Assad, and described his government as a "resistance regime". The eight-month-old revolt against Assad's rule has resulted in some 3,500 deaths, according to UN estimates.The border area, inactive for more than two years, was jolted last Tuesday when a rocket was fired from south Lebanon, damaging two buildings in northern Israel and drawing return fire, but there was no claim of responsibilityHezbollah believes the West is working to reshape the Middle East by replacing Assad with a ruler friendly to Israel and hostile to itself.
Shortly before Nasrallah's speech tens of thousands of men, women and children marched in the streets of Beirut's southern suburbs carrying Hezbollah's yellow and black flag and banners bearing religious slogans.Beating their chests in a sign of grief at the killing of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, at the battle of Karbala in 680 AD, their chants ranged from "O Hussein" to "We will never be humiliated" and "Death to America, death to Israel."The mourning festival of Ashura commemorates the death of Hussein and most of his family, leading to the division of Islam into Sunni and Shi'ite sects, a split that continues to plague the Islamic world.
