BEIRUT: Syrian fashion designer Manal Ajaj shocked her audience at a show she presented on Wednesday by dressing young Lebanese male models in army uniforms of the Syrian regime.
Lebanon, which hosts 1 million Syrian refugees, has tried to stay neutral in the Syrian conflict.
And it was only 12 years ago that the Syrian Army ended its three-decade presence in Lebanon after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.
The audience included Ajaj’s friends, Lebanese and foreign celebrities, and media figures. “This is the second show for Ajaj in Beirut,” Johnny Fadlallah, whose company L.I.P.S. Management organized the event, told Arab News.
“I didn’t understand what happened at the end of the show. I was engaged with preparations at the backstage. I heard some criticism and some praise for the show, and most critical people were from the media. They asked me why Ajaj was a fanatic supporter of the Syrian regime,” he said, adding that her show last year focused on Syrian suffering under Daesh.
“I don’t understand politics. I simply support the party of beauty and fashion. I know Ajaj is a supporter of the Syrian regime. She lives in the UAE, but she has a workshop in Damascus.”
Lebanese fashion journalist Hadia Sinno told Arab News: “I was surprised, like many others, about what happened at the end of the show, when young men came on the catwalk wearing Syrian Army uniforms.”
Designer causes anger by dressing models in Syrian regime uniforms
Designer causes anger by dressing models in Syrian regime uniforms
UN force in Lebanon says peacekeeper wounded by Israeli fire
- UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line”
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said an Israeli attack near their position in the country’s south wounded a peacekeeper on Friday, reiterating a call for Israel to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“This morning, heavy machine gunfire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions south of the Blue Line impacted close to a UNIFIL patrol inspecting a roadblock in the village of Bastarra. The gunfire followed a grenade explosion nearby,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The force added that “the sound of the gunfire and the explosion left one peacekeeper slightly injured with ear concussion.”
Also on Friday, UNIFIL said “another patrol carrying out a routine operational task also reported machine gunfire from the Israeli side in immediate proximity to their position” in Kfarshuba, south Lebanon.
The peacekeeping force said it had informed the Israel army of its activities in these areas.
Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
Last month it said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of Security Council resolution 1701,” the peacekeeping force added, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line.”
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
