Around 50 protesters from Kfardebian briefly blocked the main road of the mountain town on Thursday to protest a visit to a ski resort by controversial Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir. Kfardebian municipal chief Jean Aqiqi told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that the road was blocked “out of fears of the consequences that Sheikh al-Asir and his group could have on the tourism season.”

The cleric had announced that he would visit the Faraya ski resort along with scores of his supporters for recreation on the occasion of the Prophet's birthday. Thursday is a national holiday in Lebanon. [Link]