Pop star turned militant Fadel Shaker surrenders to Lebanese military

BEIRUT -- BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese pop star turned wanted Islamic militant handed himself over to the country’s military intelligence service Saturday 12 years after going on the run, judicial and security officials said.Fadel Shaker, had been on the run since the bloody street clashes between Sunni Muslim militants and the Lebanese army in June 2013 in the coastal city of Sidon.He was tried in absentia and sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020 for providing support to a “terrorist group.”On Saturday night, a Lebanese military intelligence force reached one of the entrances of the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near Sidon and took Shaker, who had been hiding inside the camp for more than 12 years, into custody, two security and two judicial officials said.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the handover came after coordination between mediators and officials at the Lebanese Defense Ministry.The officials said that now that Shaker is being held by Lebanese authorities, the sentences that he received while on the run will be dropped and he will be questioned in preparation to stand trial on new charges of committing crimes against the military.Shaker had denied in the past playing any role in the clashes in Sidon and said he never advocated bloodshed.Popular ReadsGovernment shutdown updates: Leavitt says Trump exploring cutting aid to PortlandOct 4, 8:50 AMSean 'Diddy' Combs sentencing live updates: Combs gets 50 months in prisonOct 3, 7:33 PMSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMThe 2013 shootout, which pitted followers of hard-line Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir against the Lebanese army, killed at least 18 soldiers and deepened sectarian tensions in Lebanon between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.In a video uploaded to YouTube on the second day of the street fighting in Sidon, a bearded Shaker called his enemies pigs and dogs, and taunted the milit...

Read More 
PaprClips
Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by PaprClips.
Publisher: ABC News

Recent Articles