BEIRUT (AP) 鈥� The leader of Lebanon鈥檚 Hezbollah declared for the first time Monday that his powerful militant group has 100,000 trained fighters.
Hassan Nasrallah disclosed the size of the Shiite group鈥檚 militant arm in his first speech since seven people were killed in gunbattles on the streets of Beirut on Thursday. The confrontation erupted over a long-running probe into last year鈥檚 massive port blast in the city.
In his speech, Nasrallah also accused the head of a right-wing Christian party of seeking to ignite civil war in the small country.
He accused Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces, of 鈥渕anufacturing鈥� Thursday's clashes in the Tayuneh area and described him as a criminal and a killer.
鈥淭he real program for the Lebanese Forces is civil war,鈥� Nasrallah said. 鈥淭he biggest threat to the social peace in Lebanon is the Lebanese Forces.鈥�
Addressing Geagea, Nasrallah said: 鈥淒on鈥檛 miscalculate. Be wise and be polite and take a lesson from all your wars and all our wars.鈥�
The Associated Press
