Hezbollah backers protest in Lebanon against anti-Islam film and French cartoon; shots fired at KFC
Lebanese army soldiers secure the area around the French Medical Faculty, French consulate, cultural center and school in Beirut on September 19, 2012. France has ordered special security measures around its embassies and schools because of fears of a hostile reaction to a magazine’s publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, the foreign ministry said.
Assailants opened fire at a KFC in Lebanon this morning, NOW Lebanon reported. The bullets damaged the restaurant but didn't hit anyone. The restaurant was opened later today.
Just hours after the gunshots occurred, thousands of supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah marched through the Lebanon city of Tyre, Agence France-Presse reported. The protesters were rioting against the "Innocence of Muslims" film, as well as cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed that a French magazine decided to publish. Popular chants included "America, America, you are the great satan!" and "Israel is the enemy of the Muslims!" according to the AFP.
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The protest also comes after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made a rare public speech in Lebanon on Monday, telling supporters that "the world should know our anger will not be a passing outburst but the start of a serious movement that will continue on the level of the Muslim nation to defend the Prophet of God."
In speeches today, Hezbollah leaders also spoke out against a controversial French cartoon published today. Hezbollah member Nabil Qaouq told the crowd that western countries need to be ready for an all-out confrontation. "France has also chosen to take a position of animosity against the ummah," he announced, according to the AFP. "Be aware of the Muslim ummah's rage, because it is capable of doing anything to defend the dignity of the messenger of God."
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