As the procession wound its way through mounds of rubble, the crowd chanted and beat their chests, their lamentations echoed by the dull thud of shelling in the foothills just beyond the city. "This the tragedy of Karbala, O Imam Hussein, look. This is the tragedy of Karbala," the crowd cried in the opening procession of Ashura, in the city of Nabatieh, southern Lebanon. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Ashura mourns the slaying of Imam Hussein in the battle of Karbala in 680; today, it is a symbol for Shia Muslims of resistance against oppression. In normal times, the annual commemoration is the pride of Nabatieh, drawing crowds of up to 30,000 people. This year, the story of Karbala took on a renewed meaning because of the Hezbollah-Israel war, which killed more than 3,900 people in Lebanon, most of whom were Shia Muslims. Nabatieh was one of the hardest-hit cities.
On Wednesday, about 200 people attended the procession. Almost all of the city's population of 80,000 had been displaced by Israeli bombings and forced evacuation orders. The ceremony mourned the recent dead. Martyr posters dotted the streets: at the roundabout at the entrance to the neighbouring village of Harouf, a 3-metre poster displayed the faces of 50 young Hezbollah fighters killed in that village alone.
"This year Ashura has a special meaning to us. We have lived the battle of Karbala every day during this war," said Ismail Yaghi, a 50-year-old at the ceremony. Looking at the posters, he added: "There is sadness in our hearts and a pride at the same time for our martyrs. But we believe that just because someone died, it doesn't mean that their life has ended."
Residents had not expected to commemorate Ashura in Nabatieh this year. A ceasefire announced on Monday between the US and Iran had unexpectedly stopped the war. Civil defence crews quickly began to prepare for the religious ceremony. Mehdi Sadek, the 45-year-old head of the ambulance service, said: "Usually we take the entire month to prepare for Ashura. This time we just had two days."
Despite a ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah had continued firing on one another in the so-called "security zone". On Friday morning, fighting intensified. Hezbollah fired on Israeli troops, killing four soldiers. In response, Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes around Nabatieh, killing 18 people and wounding 33. "There were more people here yesterday, but it was a hard night. There was lots of shelling," Sadek said.
"We expected things to be better than they are now. We wanted a real ceasefire. We decided to do Ashura in Nabatieh because we wanted to create a reason for people to come back," Sadek said. Hussein Nahleh, a 33-year-old engineer whose home was destroyed, returned to Nabatieh to attend Ashura.