Lebanese Shiites mark Ashura in Hezbollah stronghold Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Thursday to keep his forces in Syria fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's regime, in a rare public speech delivered in Beirut. He spoke in Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold as tens of thousands of followers of his Shiite militant group marked Ashura, one of the holiest days of their faith.