Ahmed al-Assir

After being a wanted fugitive for years, Al-Assir was detained on 15 August 15, 2015 by Lebanese General Security officials while attempting to flee to Egypt using a forged passport in Beirut International Airport. Upon his capture, it was revealed that Al-Assir had undergone physical changes in appearance and attire; with a shaved beard and new clothing style and facial modifications suggesting the use of plastic surgery. On 28 September 2017, Al-Assir was sentenced to death.

In February 2014, it was reported that military courts were seeking the death penalty for Ahmed al-Assir, and prison terms for up to 20 of his followers. According to Lebanese authorities, al-Assir was arrested at Beirut airport in August 2015. On 28 September 2017, the Lebanese Military Courts declared the verdict of death penalty for Assir.

In April 2013, Assir urged his followers to join the Syrian rebels by claiming that "There is now no other choice but to defend our (Sunni) people in Syria," and assuring that "There is a religious duty on every Muslim who is able to do so... to enter into Syria in order to defend its people, its mosques and religious shrines, especially in Qusayr and Homs," adding that "This fatwa (religious decree) affects us all, especially those who have military experience." Assir also announced the establishment of "Free resistance battalions" in Sidon. Such announcements came after there was enough evidence that Hezbollah militias had been involved in Syria who were fighting alongside Bashar's army.

In June 2013, clashes broke out in an eastern suburb of Sidon after several people attacked, threw stones and shattered windows in a car belonging to Assir's brother, Amjad al-Assir. Assir then gave Hezbollah a one-week ultimatum to vacate apartments occupied by the group's supporters in the mostly Sunni city, as clashes broke out with gunmen wielding automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Officials stated that the gunmen fighting Assir's followers were believed to be Hezbollah sympathizers.

On 23 June 2013, according to news channels loyal to Hezbollah said that 10 Lebanese Army soldiers were killed and 35 wounded in a clash with armed men loyal to Assir, in Sidon at an Army post near the Abra complex that houses the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque. Other Lebanese news channels denied this and accused Hezbollah militias of being involved. Violence started with a deadly attack on an army checkpoint. Roads were later blocked in other parts of the country, and the army came under fire in the Ain el-Hilweh camp.

During 23–24 June 2013, heavy street fighting erupted between the Lebanese Army and gunmen loyal to Assir in Sidon as they were accused of provoking the attack. Sixteen Lebanese soldiers, thirteen Assir supporters and approximately 4 Hezbollah militants were killed. A bodyguard of a cleric, who tried to reach the fighting to negotiate a ceasefire, also died. More than 100 Lebanese soldiers were wounded, as well as 13 pro-Assir militants. The Lebanese army requested for the country's politicians to intervene. On Monday June 24, 2013, Lebanese Army commandos seized a complex controlled by gunmen loyal to Assir in the southern city of Sidon, shortly after he fled the premises to an unknown destination.

In August 2012, Al-Assir and his supporters staged a sit in in the southern city of Sidon to protest against Hezbollah's weaponry. This led to tensions, and later clashes between Assir-supporters and members of the Popular Nasserist Organization. An AFP photographer was beaten by security forces during the clashes. The following day, counter-protests were held by members of the PNO.

On 11 November 2012, three people were killed and four others wounded after supporters of Assir clashed with supporters of Hezbollah in the southern city of Sidon. Assir stated "We have a blood score to settle with Hezbollah that can only be settled with blood", and that he considered forming an "armed resistance group" to defend Lebanon from Israel as he believed that Hezbollah's weapons had now been pointed internally.

Ahmad Al-Assir (born 5 May 1968) is the former Imam of the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Sidon, South Lebanon. With his increasing involvement in regional politics after the Syrian Civil War began and his interaction with the media, he has become a notorious personality in Lebanon's current political landscape. Al-Assir is a Salafi. He frequently agitates against Iran and Hezbollah, whom he accuses of being a threat to the fragile sectarian balance and democracy of Lebanon.