A Lebanese boy aims at a target with a toy gun at a makeshift lunapark in the Beirut southern suburbt of Qasqas on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha or the "Feast of Sacrifice" on 26 October 2012. (Photo: AFP - Anwar Amro)
Tripoli and Saida’s local businesses took a serious hit following the assassination of security chief Wissam al-Hassan and the ensuing tension on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a major holiday.
Tripoli’s merchants and businessmen complain local gunmen forced them to shut down their stores following Friday’s explosion in Achrafieh which killed Hassan and two others. Many blamed the Sunni political leadership, with accusations particularly coming from the opposition-aligned Future Movement, which some say acts as an umbrella for a loose confederation of undisciplined armed groups including Salafi and Islamist organizations.
“We are very sympathetic towards the martyr Hassan and we have the utmost respect for him, but how do these actions benefit anyone?” asked Mahmoud Kamaleddine, who owns a clothing shop in Tripoli’s Bazirkan market.
“Must our businesses and country go to ruins so Saad Hariri can head the government again?” he continued...
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/eid-business-interrupted-lebanon