AFP, Beirut :
A young footballer who played in Lebanon’s Premier League has been killed fighting alongside Hezbollah in the battle for Syria’s Aleppo, a source close to the Shiite movement said Friday.
Kassem Shamkha was killed “while fighting off a rebel attack Thursday on western Aleppo,” the source told AFP, referring to the government-held side of the city.
The 19-year-old midfielder was from Burj al-Barajneh, a southern suburb of Beirut where support for Hezbollah is widespread.
Since 2009, Shamkha had played for Hezbollah’s Al-Ahed football club which has won Lebanon’s national championships four times, most recently in 2015.
In Lebanon, most football teams are financed by political parties.
A young footballer who played in Lebanon’s Premier League has been killed fighting alongside Hezbollah in the battle for Syria’s Aleppo, a source close to the Shiite movement said Friday.
Kassem Shamkha was killed “while fighting off a rebel attack Thursday on western Aleppo,” the source told AFP, referring to the government-held side of the city.
The 19-year-old midfielder was from Burj al-Barajneh, a southern suburb of Beirut where support for Hezbollah is widespread.
Since 2009, Shamkha had played for Hezbollah’s Al-Ahed football club which has won Lebanon’s national championships four times, most recently in 2015.
In Lebanon, most football teams are financed by political parties.
