Posted by Damozel | Hezbollah militias have seized control of West Beirut, unleashing the worst sectarian violence since the end of Lebanon's 15 year-long civil war in the early Nineties. (CNN)
Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader and part of the pro-government coalition, described it as a "coup."...
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called that conflict "a strategic and historic victory" but acknowledged underestimating the cost in lives and destruction. .....
In public statements and demonstrations in recent years, the Shiite militant group backed by Iran and Syria threatened to use its power and popularity to oust the Sunni-led government, triggering fears of a new civil war that could further destabilize the volatile region. (CNN)
The Lebanese Army did not join in the fray. Taking sides would have caused it to break apart into factions. Instead, they negotiated a government surrender. (CNN)
At The Chicago Tribune, Liz Sly calls it '[t]he open warfare everyone feared and nobody believed would really happen.' (Trib) The UN Council has urged the rival factions to stop fighting out of fear of full-scale civil war.(BBC News)
The US has 'reaffirmed' its support for the government, whatever that entails.
The US has restated its support for Lebanon's government and says Hezbollah is killing innocent civilians.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was committed to helping the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
"We will stand by the Lebanese government and peaceful citizens of Lebanon through this crisis and provide the support they need to weather this storm," she said in a statement. (BBC News)
Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, accuses the US- and Saudi-backed government of effectively declaring war on behalf of the US and Israel by 'challenging Hezbollah's use of a satellite communications network and of surveillance cameras at Beirut's international airport, issues of vital importance to Hezbollah.' (Trib)
The decision by the Lebanese government Tuesday to investigate Hezbollah's private communications network was taken by Hezbollah as a challenge to its role as the guardian of Lebanon's security against the threat of Israeli aggression. The network proved vital in helping Hezbollah stand against advancing Israeli forces in 2006, the movement says.
The government also fired the head of security at Beirut's international airport after the discovery of surveillance cameras belonging to Hezbollah and allegedly trained on a runway used by the country's top politicians.
Hezbollah has now responded by blockading the road leading to the airport, preventing passengers from reaching the facility and forcing the cancellation of almost all flights. (Trib)
The Lebanese government, via the top Sunni politician Saad Hariri, calls it a 'misunderstanding.' (BBC News) But the BBC says that the government seems to have 'badly overplayed its hand.' (BBC News) ' The BBC's Jim Muir in the city says it all amounts to a humiliating blow to the government.'(BBC News)
Spencer Ackerman published this report from correspondents nearer the action. One wrote:
Friends in Hamra and nearby ‘hoods report that Hezbollah gunmen have taken the streets and are telling people to stay indoors. They’re also taking pro-government people from their homes. One friend near Sporting Club reported a Shi’ite man in her (mixed) neighborhood was taken by gunmen as he was screaming, “I’m from the Dahiyeh!”
Reports coming in right now report that RPGs are hitting Qoreitam, Saad Hariri’s home in West Beirut. (Attackerman)
The BBC confirms that neighborhoods considered Sunni strongholds are being overrun by militants.
Another said:
Hezbollah has basically moved into every part of Beirut. The question is, how long can it stay? Beirut is historically not a Shiite city, it’s a Sunni, Christian one. The armed Hezbollah and Amal men in the street don’t have “home bases” in the areas they have moved into.(Attackerman)
At The Lebanese Political Journal, Charles Malik writes:
Hezbollah seems to be making a concerted effort to placate the Christian population. Ashrafieh was not attacked, and life is relatively normal in the Christian suburbs north of Beirut.....
Michel Aoun just gave an interview claiming that the crisis will be over soon. He even noted that the illegal occupation of Beirut's downtown by opposition militants will end soon. Many who watched his interview are happy to hear this news, despite it coming from a politician who appears to be Hezbollah's Christian spokesman. Once again, this sounds like propaganda that no other Lebanese faction is in a position to challenge.
....We will now be told that we should be happy that they control everything and that freedom can now reign over this sovereign land that is no longer occupied by the evils of democracy.
Most likely, a president will be elected. Given his recent performances in support of Hezbollah, that president will most likely be Michel Aoun. Another deadlock will be broken. We will be told that this is the will of the people, which the evil and corrupt former government and their scheming American, French, Saudian Arabian allies prevented from occurring.
If you find you can't get too exercised over other people's fights, try this on for size. Paul Salem, Director of the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East Center in Beirut writes:
"This is a very serious deterioration....There's already a Sunni-Shiite war in Iraq. and if this continues there could be a third one in Bahrain, a fourth in Kuwait, a fifth in Saudi Arabia and so on. These are oil-producing areas. You're already talking about $120-a-barrel oil now, and wars in these countries are really going to get people's attention."(Trib)
Memeorandum has more here.
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The Article is prejudiced because the Lebonese govt. is functioning illegally against the constitution.
Posted by: Jhon | May 11, 2008 at 08:33 AM
I am not prejudiced. I just quoted from the original article. I don't know anything about the situation. It's a news story; I just wanted to cover the news story.
Posted by: Damozel | May 11, 2008 at 11:32 PM