International Herald Tribune - From news reports
Fierce clashes raged Thursday in Beirut after the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah said the U.S.-supported Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its military telecommunications network.
Fighters from Hezbollah and the allied Amal group exchanged assault-rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades with pro- government gunmen in several areas of the capital in some of the worst domestic fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.
The latest clashes followed a defiant speech by Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in which he said the militant organizations would respond with force to any attacks.
"Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them," Nasrallah said in a news conference via video link from his hiding place that was broadcast live on television. "Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off."
He was reacting to a government decision this week declaring the Hezbollah communications network illegal and removing the head of airport security, a figure close to the group.
The clashes Thursday were taking place on Corniche Mazraa, a major thoroughfare that has become a demarcation line between the two sides, and the nearby Ras el-Nabeh area, in the Muslim western part of the city.
"There is so much shooting and explosions outside," one Beirut resident, Ghada Helmi, said by telephone. "Our building is in the middle of the fighting."
Supporters of Hezbollah and their allies have blocked roads leading to the airport - Lebanon's only air link to the outside world - and other main streets, paralyzing much of the capital.
The airport was barely functioning, with only a few flights arriving and taking off, airport officials said.
In troubled neighborhoods, people stayed indoors, huddled in hallways or staircases as gunmen rushed from one street corner to another. Others took their families and moved to safer neighborhoods while people stocked up on food, standing in lines at supermarkets.
The street fighting with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades was reminiscent of the lawless days of the civil war, when various militias ran entire neighborhoods and battled over territory and religious or political affiliation. Lebanon's civil war killed 150,000 people and wrecked entire areas of the capital.
There was no immediate word on casualties in the latest fighting.
The fighting could also have implications for the entire Middle East at a time when Sunni-Shiite tensions are already high.
The tensions are fueled in part by the growing rivalry between Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, and Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The army, which has been struggling to contain the disturbances, warned Thursday of the consequences to the country and the military itself.
"The continuation of the situation as is is a clear loss for all and harms the unity of the military institution," a statement said.
The army has largely stayed out of the fighting for fear of exacerbating the situation, and has avoided taking sides - something that would put it at risk, especially because the army's commander is the two factions' consensus candidate for president.
General Michel Suleiman, the army chief, has so far advised the government not to declare a state of emergency.
The violence appeared to be a test of wills by the political rivals who have been locked in a 17-month power struggle for control of the government. But there was a risk that the escalation could degenerate into a wider and deadlier sectarian conflict.
On Thursday, the violence spread outside the capital. Sunnis and Shiites exchanged gunfire in the village of Saadnayel in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Four people were wounded, said security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.
The area is on a major crossroads linking the Shiite areas of Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold, with central Lebanon and Beirut.
In Beirut, residents woke up to a new reality, with fresh demarcation lines, burning tires and roadblocks. Both sides geared up for more confrontations.
Originally published by Reuters, AP.
(c) 2008 International Herald Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
Fierce clashes raged Thursday in Beirut after the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah said the U.S.-supported Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its military telecommunications network.
Fighters from Hezbollah and the allied Amal group exchanged assault-rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades with pro- government gunmen in several areas of the capital in some of the worst domestic fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.
The latest clashes followed a defiant speech by Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in which he said the militant organizations would respond with force to any attacks.
"Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them," Nasrallah said in a news conference via video link from his hiding place that was broadcast live on television. "Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off."
He was reacting to a government decision this week declaring the Hezbollah communications network illegal and removing the head of airport security, a figure close to the group.
The clashes Thursday were taking place on Corniche Mazraa, a major thoroughfare that has become a demarcation line between the two sides, and the nearby Ras el-Nabeh area, in the Muslim western part of the city.
"There is so much shooting and explosions outside," one Beirut resident, Ghada Helmi, said by telephone. "Our building is in the middle of the fighting."
Supporters of Hezbollah and their allies have blocked roads leading to the airport - Lebanon's only air link to the outside world - and other main streets, paralyzing much of the capital.
The airport was barely functioning, with only a few flights arriving and taking off, airport officials said.
In troubled neighborhoods, people stayed indoors, huddled in hallways or staircases as gunmen rushed from one street corner to another. Others took their families and moved to safer neighborhoods while people stocked up on food, standing in lines at supermarkets.
The street fighting with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades was reminiscent of the lawless days of the civil war, when various militias ran entire neighborhoods and battled over territory and religious or political affiliation. Lebanon's civil war killed 150,000 people and wrecked entire areas of the capital.
There was no immediate word on casualties in the latest fighting.
The fighting could also have implications for the entire Middle East at a time when Sunni-Shiite tensions are already high.
The tensions are fueled in part by the growing rivalry between Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, and Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The army, which has been struggling to contain the disturbances, warned Thursday of the consequences to the country and the military itself.
"The continuation of the situation as is is a clear loss for all and harms the unity of the military institution," a statement said.
The army has largely stayed out of the fighting for fear of exacerbating the situation, and has avoided taking sides - something that would put it at risk, especially because the army's commander is the two factions' consensus candidate for president.
General Michel Suleiman, the army chief, has so far advised the government not to declare a state of emergency.
The violence appeared to be a test of wills by the political rivals who have been locked in a 17-month power struggle for control of the government. But there was a risk that the escalation could degenerate into a wider and deadlier sectarian conflict.
On Thursday, the violence spread outside the capital. Sunnis and Shiites exchanged gunfire in the village of Saadnayel in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Four people were wounded, said security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.
The area is on a major crossroads linking the Shiite areas of Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold, with central Lebanon and Beirut.
In Beirut, residents woke up to a new reality, with fresh demarcation lines, burning tires and roadblocks. Both sides geared up for more confrontations.
Originally published by Reuters, AP.
(c) 2008 International Herald Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
