HARISSA, Lebanon (AFP) Sun Sep 24, - Anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea scoffed at Hezbollah's claims of victory in its devastating conflict with Israel, during a rally attended by tens of thousands. "We are the victors, and yet we do not feel it was victory but rather that a real catastrophe befell our country, and that our fate and destiny are at the mercy of the winds," said the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader and member of Lebanon's "March 14" group Sunday.

Crowds flocked to a hilltop Maronite cathedral in Harissa in the Christian heartland north of Beirut, site of a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, for a mass and to hear Geagea speak at the rally staged as a memorial for "martyrs" of his party members killed during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.The Christian television network, LBC, close to the LF, said some 90,000 people were expected to flock to the scene, but an independent figure for the turnout was unavailable.

The rally came two days after Syrian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah held a giant demonstration in Beirut to celebrate "victory" in the July-August war with Israel."We are the victors because it was us who were demanding the (Lebanese) army's deployment (in south Lebanon), backed by UNIFIL (peacekeepers), while they were opposed," said Geagea, without naming Hezbollah.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -Sept. 22 - By HUSSEIN DAKROUB,  Hezbollah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah made his first public appearance since his group's war with Israel began July 12, taking the stage Friday at a rally by hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Beirut's bombed-out suburbs. Nasrallah had called the rally to celebrate the "divine and historic victory" over Israel, and supporters packed a lot for an expected speech by the guerrilla leader.

The crowd