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27.9%ANMag Issue 27 Breaking News
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Timeline: Crisis in Lebanon
Al Jazeera - The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has been leading a political campaign against the cabinet seen as anti-Syria, led by Fouad Siniora, the prime minister.
The crisis has paralysed much of the government and left Lebanon with no president for five months.
Hezbollah, allegedly backed by Iran and Syria, was the only Lebanese faction allowed to keep its weapons after the civil war ended in 1990, to fight Israeli forces occupying the south.
Israel withdrew in 2000 and the fate of Hezbollah's weapons is at the heart of the current political crisis. [More]
The Daily Star
Qatari emir welcomes delegates to dialogue aimed at saving Lebanon
May 17, 2008 - The Daily Star - BEIRUT: Lebanon's feuding political leaders gathered in Qatar Friday for Arab League-brokered talks aimed at ending a long-running crisis that drove the country to the brink of a new civil war. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani read an opening statement late on Friday, welcoming the rival leaders and vowing to protect Lebanon's future by preserving its unity.
Sheikh Hamad said that Qatar was looking forward to be a place where Lebanese leaders meet for fruitful talks.
"We hope that consensus is reached so we can avoid dangerous consequences," he said before adjourning the opening ceremony and announcing that the first round of talks will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The leaders arrived in Doha on a single plane, except for parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who took a private jet to Doha.
Hizbullah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah did not go to Qatar, apparently for security reasons, but was represented by MP Mohammad Raad and other key figures from the resistance movement.
Earlier on Friday, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun told reporters at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport before boarding the plane to Doha that he had proposed to the Arab delegation the formation of a transitional government that would run the country in case the rival parties failed to reach an agreement.
"I was not opposed to mentioning the name of the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Michel Suleiman, as a consensus candidate for presidency, but I also proposed mentioning that a transitional government should be formed if the talks fail," Aoun said.
The FPM leader added that all parties were in favor of adopting a qada-based electoral law for the next parliamentary elections.
"There are many formulas in hand, but all are similar and based on the qada as an electoral constituency," he said.
Also at the airport, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea advised Hizbullah not to expect to much during the talks in Doha.
"I urge Hizbullah not to have high expectations because we will not take the military balance of power into consideration during the talks," he said, referring to the rout of pro-government gunmen by their opposition rivals last week.
The Lebanese leaders agreed Thursday to launch a dialogue as part of a six-point plan, following Arab League mediation led by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani.
Under the deal the rivals undertook "to shore up the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country," to refrain from using weapons to further political aims and to remove militants from the streets.
Qatar invited the rivals to Doha for talks to end a broader political standoff that has paralyzed government for 18 months and left Lebanon without a president since November.
"We are going to Doha ... to come back, God willing, with an agreement that will allow Lebanese to look forward, benefiting from the past and its bitter experience," Siniora said before leaving.
He added that there is no Lebanese party that can impose its will on other parties through the use of arms.
"Violence will not lead to a solution ... It will rather complicate the crisis," he said.
Also Friday, the White House announced that Siniora has cancelled talks with US President George W. Bush in Egypt on Sunday so that he can deal with Lebanon's political crisis.
Bush, who vowed last week to stand by Siniora and his pro-Western government despite the clashes, had been due to meet the prime minister on the sidelines of an economic forum in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, accompanying Bush on a visit to Saudi Arabia during a Middle East tour, said Siniora had dropped out of the talks "because of the situation on the ground" in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal voiced Riyadh's backing for the six-point agreement and called all Lebanese parties to commit to implementing it in its entirety.
"All parties should commit to implementing the agreement, particularly the item that bans the use of arms by any party in Lebanon to achieve political aims," Saud said at a news conference in Riyadh.
He added that any agreement should lead to enhancing the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, "which should control the decisions of war and peace."
Asked whether Saudi Arabia was standing at the same distance from all parties in Lebanon, the Saudi foreign minister said that this was the case in principal, "but we cannot treat right and wrong equally ... and the use of arms in internal strife is wrong." Riyadh has been a staunch supporter of the Siniora government.
Syrian Foreign Minister told As-Safir newspaper on Friday that Syria supported the Arab-brokered agreement.
He described the pact as "a real opportunity to save Lebanon from the dangers it faces," but warned against "international interference that could have negative impacts."
Who's there
BEIRUT: Lebanese delegates to the Doha talks include:
l Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and MPs Samir Azar and Ali Hassan Khalil and advisers Mahmoud Berri, Ali Hamdan and Ali Hamad.
lFuture Movement leader Saad Hariri and MPs Bassem Sabaa, Nabil De Freij, Samir Jisr, former MP Ghattas Khoury and political adviser Hani Hammoud.
l Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and ministers Tarek Mitri, Khaled Qabbani, Michel Pharaon, Ahmad Fatfat and political advisers Mohammad Chatah, Radwan al-Sayyed, Roula Noureddine, and Aref al-Abed.
l Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and ministers Ghazi al -Aridi, Marwan Hamadeh and MPs Nehme Tohme and Wael Bou Faour.
l Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and MPs Abbass Hashem, Nabil Nkoula, Farid Khazen, FPM political relations official Gibran Bassil and political advisers Mario Aoun and Jean Aziz.
l Hizbullah MPs Mohammad Raad and Hussein al-Hajj Hassan and resigned Energy and Water Minister Mohammad Fneish.
l Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and MPs George Adwan, Antoine Zahra and foreign affairs adviser Joseph Nehme.
l Former President and Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and party members Chaker Aoun, Walid Fares, Elie Dagher, Sassine Sassine and political adviser Joseph Khalil.
l Zahle's Popular Bloc head MP Elie Skaff and MP Salim Aoun.
l Tripoli Bloc leader and Transport and Public Works Minister Mohammad Safadi.
l MPs Michel Murr, Ghassan Tueini, Boutros Harb, Jawad Boulos and Hagop Pakradounian.
Reuters
UPDATE 1-Lebanon's Solidere up 12 pct after crisis eases
May 16, 2008 - Reuters - Shares in Lebanese real estate market heavyweight Solidere (SOLA.BY: Quote, Profile, Research) (SOLB.BY: Quote, Profile, Research) surged 12 percent on Friday, a day after the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-90 civil war eased.
By 0705 GMT, the firm's A shares had risen 12.17 percent to $28.49 and its B shares were up 12.04 percent to $28.01 percent. The market index rose 5.59 percent.
On Thursday, an Arab League mediation mission sealed an agreement that ended fighting between ruling coalition supporters and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
"The market has been influenced by yesterday's deal and the high expectations that the Lebanese were looking for. Therefore the increase in the market strictly related to the political situation," Firas Hassan, financial analyst at Arab Finance Corporation, told Reuters. [More]
International Herald Tribune
Lebanon Sunnis bitter in Lebanon power shift toward Shiite Hezbollah
May 16, 2008 - International Herald Tribune - For three years, Sunni Muslims have dominated Lebanon's government. Now they are bitter and fearful after Hezbollah's seizure of parts of Beirut in street gunbattles — an ominous sign of how the country's latest political crisis has sharply worsened sectarian tensions.
"They entered and they carried out the plan. But who did they liberate Beirut from?" wondered Mohammed Zaghloul, 41, who roasts nuts for a living.
He sat idle on a street corner of a neighborhood once controlled by Sunni groups. A picture of prominent Sunni chieftain from the time of Lebanon's civil war, Ibrahim Koleilat, has faded on a wall nearby.
Zaghloul's question is key for Lebanon's future and could have implications for the entire Middle East.
Until recently, Lebanon's ongoing political crisis has been largely only political — all sides worked hard to keep the ever-present sectarian issues from surfacing. [More]
Al Bawaba
Hizbullah: Reversal of two decisions will return Lebanon to normal
May 15, 2008 - Al Bawaba - Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem on Thursday said that revoking the two decisions by the unconstitutional government of Fouad Saniora was the natural entrance to political settlement. "The Cabinet's reversal of the two decisions is a natural step to return things to the way they were before the two decisions," Kassem said. "We want a political settlement that will lead, in the end, to there being no victor and no vanquished."
Speaking after meeting the Arab delegation visiting Lebanon since Wednesday, Sheikh Kassem reiterated that "if anyone believes he can benefit from international interference in imposing his conditions, he is wrong. We recognize the other party, and it must recognize us. We represent a large sector of the population, and the other party is also represented." [More]
Reuters
Lebanon conflict puts army unity to the test
May 14, 2008 - Reuters - Armed conflict in Lebanon between Shi'ites and rival Sunnis and Druze has put the army's unity to the test, threatening to split an institution seen as a bulwark against a new civil war.
The fighting -- Lebanon's worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war -- has placed great strain on an army whose ranks reflect the country's sectarian mosaic.
The military lacked both the will and means to stand in the way of the powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah and its allies when they took over Beirut last week, drawing criticism from leaders whose followers were routed in the campaign.
"There is a central problem which is the unity of the army," said Saad al-Hariri, Lebanon's most prominent Sunni politician and leader of the ruling coalition. "Today, unfortunately, this army was not capable of defending citizens," he said on Tuesday. [More]
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Weddings and Kalashnikovs: Life in Lebanon is full of paradoxes
May 14, 2008 - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - In Lebanon, the weapons are being put away but the worries remain. It appears that the heaviest fighting between the Shi'ite Hizbollah fighters and the Sunni opposition supporters is now over. Over the last few days, dozens were killed and hundreds were injured in the violence, mainly in the northern port city of Tripoli. It was the most serious crisis since the civil war ended in 1990.
From my living room in Beirut, I can hear explosions in the mountains east of the capital while a wedding procession wends its way down the street. From my balcony, I watch a convoy of convertibles packed with people dressed in their finest clothes; they are laughing and singing and honking the horn. Lebanon is a strange place.
The situation in this small country on the Mediterranean remains very tense. At the end of last week, serious fighting broke out between the Hizbollah-led opposition and supporters of the pro-Western government, and fighting could erupt again at any moment. People are afraid that a new civil war will break out unless violence is quickly stopped. However, it is clear from the speeches that politicians are making on radio and television that a quick end to the violence is nowhere in sight. [More]
Los Angeles Times
LEBANON: Dangerous times and encouraging signs
May 14, 2008 - Los Angeles Times - Scholar and Lebanon expert Augustus Richard Norton recently took time out for a lengthy e-mail interview with the Los Angeles Times about the confusing conflict in Lebanon.
Lebanon watchers have been worried for some time that the current political stalemate between the Western-leaning government and the Iranian-backed opposition could explode and plunge the country into civil war.
"While many Lebanese adults have a living memory of the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, many shabaab or 'young bloods' on all sides have been rearing for a fight," wrote Norton. "On several occasions dangerous clashes emerged and the country seems to have been close to the brink, and then wiser heads prevailed on all sides."
Norton knows Lebanon well. He served as a peacekeeper in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) during the 1980s and wrote the groundbreaking book "Amal and the Shi'a" in 1987.
Now a professor of international relations and anthropology at Boston University, he recently published the timely "Hezbollah: A Short History," described by Publisher's Weekly as a "remarkably thorough, articulate portrait" and by the Washington Post as a "lucid primer" on the group.
He's a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was an advisor to the Iraq Study Group in 2006.
Below is the interview... [More]
Kansas City
Fighting in Lebanon shifts from Beirut to Tripoli in north
May 13, 2008 - Kansas City - BEIRUT, Lebanon | Clashes between pro- and anti-government factions jumped to Lebanon’s north Monday.
But a grim calm hung over the nearly empty streets of Beirut, a capital crippled by roadblocks, suspicion and fear.
Black-clad Shiite militants of Hezbollah carried their latest dead to burial. So did the relatives and friends of civilians caught in the middle of combat that has routed from Muslim west Beirut the Sunni factions supporting the Western-allied government.
More than 50 people were confirmed dead since fighting erupted Wednesday — first in Beirut, then in the mountains overlooking the city and on Monday in the northern city of Tripoli.
It is the worst sectarian violence in Lebanon since a 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
That war killed 150,000 people and laid waste to many parts of Beirut, leaving the city divided into ethnic and religious districts deeply suspicious of one another. The new fighting has torn open old wounds.
“They abandoned their cause against Israel and have come to kill us,” Wadad Abdel Nasser Shamaa, 27, said of Hezbollah’s militiamen.
Her brother, Mohammed, was killed Thursday when Hezbollah and its allies swept through the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Tarik Jadideh.
Beirut remained quiet, and fighting between Druse factions in the mountains outside the city also subsided. But heavy combat was reported in Tripoli, the country’s second-biggest city.
In Tripoli’s Bab el-Tabaneh district, about 25 to 30 Sunni fighters with AK-47 assault rifles exchanged fire with Alawites in the neighboring Jabal Mohsen area. Alawites are members of a small offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The Sunnis moved from one building to another through holes knocked in the walls to avoid snipers.
“We shall force them out of here. We won’t allow them to stay here,” said one fighter, who said he was fighting because Alawites killed his family in the 1980s.
Tehran Times
A way out for Lebanon
May 13, 2008 - Tehran Times - The recent events in Lebanon prove that certain regional powers are continuing efforts to implement their “managed chaos” plan for the region.
These incidents are not limited to Lebanon. Indeed, a chain of events is unfolding from Gaza to Baghdad’s Sadr City to Beirut, with the United States and Israel clearly stirring up the violence.
Sadr City, Gaza, and Beirut are strategically interconnected because the security of the Zionist regime and the United States directly depends on these three places.
Israel’s defeat in the 33-day war against Lebanon in the summer of 2006 upset the military and political balance of power in the Middle East and altered the Zionist regime’s security status. [More]
Associated Press
Arab League ministers call for end to Lebanon fighting
May 13, 2008 - Associated Press - CAIRO -- Arab foreign ministers at an emergency meeting here urged warring Lebanese factions to immediately cease fighting and said Sunday that they would send a delegation to try to broker a settlement between the Hezbollah-led opposition and U.S.-backed government.
Government supporters and opponents battled with rockets and machine guns in the mountains overlooking the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The Arab League's statement in Cairo implicitly criticized the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah.
"The ministers reject the principle of resorting to armed violence to achieve political goals," it said.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the delegation would leave for Lebanon soon but did not give a date.
No flights have gone into Beirut for four days because Hezbollah supporters have blocked the airport road.
Democracy Now
81 Dead in Lebanon as Hezbollah Clashes with US-Backed Pro-Government Forces
May 12, 2008 - Democracy Now -“This is very much similar to what is happening in Sudan, in Palestine, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and Somalia, [where] the United States is basically instigating and funding civil wars,” says professor As’ad AbuKhalil. [includes rush transcript]
AMY GOODMAN: In Lebanon, armed clashes since last Wednesday between Hezbollah-led opposition groups and US-backed pro-government forces have left at least eighty-one people dead, many more wounded. Opposition forces overpowered pro-government militias and took over large parts of the capital city of Beirut late last week before handing over control to the Lebanese army.
The fighting shifted to the north and east of the country over the weekend, and fresh clashes were reported in Beirut this morning. Meanwhile, the Arab League has agreed to send a high-level political delegation to Lebanon to dialogue with leaders from all sides.
The violence, which has been described as the worst since the civil war, erupted last week during a general strike called by the General Federation of Labor Unions to protest the high cost of living.
On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah held a news conference in Beirut to mark what he called the beginning of a “new era” in Lebanese politics. He condemned a decision by the Lebanese cabinet to outlaw Hezbollah’s telecommunications network and dismiss the head of airport security for his alleged ties to the party. Nasrallah said their private communication network was a vital tool in combat and critical to their success during the July 2006 war with Israel. He described the government crackdown as “tantamount to a declaration of war.” [More]
Jerusalem Post
Our World: How Lebanon was lost
May 12, 2008 - Jerusalem Post - Hizbullah's successful overthrow of the pro-democracy forces in Lebanon this past week was eminently foreseeable. But that doesn't make the violent overthrow of the forces of freedom in that country any less of a tragedy. And the fact that Hizbullah's coup was predictable does not mean that it was inevitable.
A great many forces had to turn their backs on Lebanon's democratic forces in order to enable Hizbullah's easy triumph. A great many actors had to turn a blind eye to Hizbullah's Iranian and Syrian-financed rearmament over the past two years. A great many actors had to ignore and so exacerbate the inherent weaknesses of the March 14 movement and the Saniora government it produced. A great many countries and international bodies had to accept the fiction that the Lebanese military takes its orders from the elected Lebanese government.
And alas, over the past two years, most of the supposedly pro-democracy, anti-Iranian, anti-Syrian and anti-Hizbullah governments of the world have turned blind eyes to all these things and so paved the way for Hizbullah's takeover of the country. [More]
Euronews
Lebanon faces crisis as Hizbollah fights on
May 12, 2008 - Euronews - The latest explosion of violence in Lebanon has now killed more than 80 people, and produced the worst crisis since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990. Pro-Syrian Hizbollah forces continued to attack fighters loyal to the Western-leaning government, with territory gained then handed over to the largely-neutral Lebanese army.
The anti-Syrian Christian leader Amin Gemayel demanded an end to the fighting.
"Before any peace talks, we insist on a public pledge from Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, that weapons will not be used against the Lebanese people again," he said.
Beirut was largely calm today, but renewed fighting erupted in the northern port of Tripoli. Sunni government supporters battled Shi'ite Hizbollah fighters for control, leaving at least six people dead.
Hizbollah has swept through Beirut and into the mountains. In the Bekaa Valley, refugees were again fleeing, caught up in the latest chapter of Lebanon's violent struggle for power.
Despite everything that has happened in the past few days, the people have no appetite for yet more civil conflict
Robert Fisk: Lebanon does not want another war. Does it?
May 11, 2008 - The Independent - I went to cover a demonstration in West Beirut yesterday morning – yes, please note the capital W on "West" – and then I get a text from a Lebanese woman on my mobile phone, asking if she will have to wear a veil when she returns to Lebanon. How do I reply? That the restaurants are still open? That you can still drink wine with your dinner?
That is the problem. For the war in West Beirut is not about religion. It is about the political legitimacy of the Lebanese government and its "pro-American" support (the latter an essential adjective to any US news agency report), which Iran understandably challenges.
A few days ago, I went to view an exhibition – here, in Beirut – of posters of the terrible 15-year civil war which cost the Lebanese and Palestinians 150,000 lives. It was called "Signs of Conflict: Political Posters of Lebanon's Civil War, 1975-1990", and I came to the conclusion that there would never be a civil war in Lebanon again. How could a people who were prepared to show such outrageous placards re-fight this hopeless conflict? But, am I not seeing almost identical posters in the streets of West Beirut? [More]
Agence France Press
Arab League holds Lebanon crisis talks without Syrian FM
May 11, 2008 - AFP - Arab foreign ministers were holding talks on the Lebanon crisis on Sunday in the absence of Syria's top diplomat whose country has been blamed for the troubles of its smaller neighbour.
The meeting in Cairo follows days of lethal street battles in Lebanon which have stoked fears that a protracted political feud could break out into a repeat of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmud Ali Yussuf, whose country was chairing Sunday's session, told fellow ministers that "a number of steps and measures to resolve the situation in Lebanon have been put forward." [More]
Al Jazeera
Fighting rocks north Lebanon city
May 11, 2008 - IOL - At least one person has been killed in clashes between supporters of Lebanon's government and the Hezbollah-led opposition in the northern city of Tripoli.
The fighting, which began late on Saturday and continued throughout the night, came hours after Lebanese opposition forces started to withdraw from the streets of Beirut, Lebanon's capital.
An Al Jazeera correspondent reported on Sunday that all groups involved in the clashes have agreed on a truce to allow the evacuation of injured people. [More]
Reuters
Hezbollah starts withdrawing gunmen from Beirut
May 10, 2008 - Reuters - Hezbollah on Saturday began withdrawing gunmen from Beirut and handed control of the streets to the Lebanese army, after days of gunbattles with supporters of the U.S.-backed government.
Hezbollah, a political group backed by Iran and Syria with a guerrilla army, said it was ending its armed presence in Beirut after the army overturned government measures against the group.
Hezbollah seized control of much of the city on Friday after fighters loyal to the group routed gunmen loyal to the anti-Damascus governing coalition.
The Hezbollah-led opposition said it would maintain a "civil disobedience" campaign until its demands were met, but gave no further details. Lebanon has been in political deadlock for 17 months over opposition demands for a greater say in government. [More]
Nasrallah's defiant speech revealed hizbullah's 'readiness to engage in defensive war'
Analysts say Lebanon's crisis in perilous new phase
May 10, 2008 - AFP - Lebanon's prolonged political crisis has entered a dangerous new phase, analysts warned on Thursday as Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah issued a defiant new challenge to the government and deadly clashes rocked Beirut. "No more Mr Nice Guy. This a new phase," warned Hizbullah expert Amal Saad-Ghorayeb after Nasrallah accused the government of effectively declaring war on his powerful Shiite Muslim movement and said it would use its weapons to defend itself.
Gunbattles erupted in Beirut late Thursday, and residents stayed indoors again Friday fearful of a renewed sectarian conflict in the divided nation.
Nasrallah's remarks were "very explicit about Hizbullah's readiness to engage in a defensive war. This was a major escalation. There is no room for conciliation here," said Saad-Ghorayeb. "He is saying: 'If anyone touches us, our resistance, our supporters we are going to fight back' ... I don't see what they could possibly strike a deal over at this point." [More]
IOL
Over two dozen killed in Lebanon clashes
May 10, 2008 - IOL - Fourteen people were killed in fierce clashes in north Lebanon on Saturday between supporters of the Western-backed government and the opposition, a security official said.
"The headquarters of the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) in Halba fell to the Future Movement forces," the official said, adding that seven people were found dead inside.
The toll from the fighting in the north has now risen to 14 from five reported dead earlier in the day, the official said.
He said earlier that civilians were among the casualties.
The fighting in the town of Halba in the Akkar region pitted a pro-Syrian party allied with the Hezbollah-led opposition against members of the Western-backed ruling bloc, the official said. [More]
Robert Fisk
Gun battles as Hizbollah claims Lebanon is at war
May 09, 2008 - The Independent - If you want to fight us, you'll have to fight us. This was Sayed Hassan Nasrallah's message to the Lebanese government yesterday and his words were followed within seconds by two massive gun battles in the streets of Beirut.
He had spoken in that careful, thought-through, distressing way in which he always threatens the Hizbollah's enemies. He even swapped the names of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, with that of the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt – calling Jumblatt the real prime minister and Siniora his deputy – and blamed both for trying to set up a CIA-Mossad base at Beirut airport. What other reason could there be, he asked, for the two men to demand the dismantlement of Hizbollah's communications system and the suspension of the head of airport security? This was "a Lebanese government declaration of war against the resistance". Well, maybe. But Nasrallah still wants the Hizbollah's enemies to be the Israelis – not his Lebanese opponents. [More]
At least 10 killed and 20 hurt as clashes spread
Lebanon on the brink as violence erupts
May 09, 2008 - The Guardian - Fighting erupted across Beirut yesterday after Hizbullah accused the Lebanese government of issuing a "declaration of war" by demanding the Shia militia shut down its private communications network.
Beirut's streets echoed to the sound of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as masked Hizbullah fighters clashed with supporters of the western-backed government, evoking bitter memories of the country's civil war and sharpening fears of a new one. [More]
World
Lebanese Future TV stops broadcasting after being attacked
May 09, 2008 - Xinhua News Agency - Lebanese Al-Mustaqbal (Future) TV stopped local and cable broadcasting Friday morning after opposition gunmen sieged the station and turned it over to the Lebanese army, New TV reported.
News director of Future TV, mouthpiece of majority leader MP Saad Hariri, announced they were asked by the Lebanese army to stop broadcasting and that the station was now under army control. [More]
In Beirut, government supporters and opponents clash
Sunni and Shiite Muslims target each other with rocks and gunfire in Lebanon's capital. Many roads are closed
May 08, 2008 -Los Angeles Times - Armed clashes Wednesday in the Lebanese capital between supporters of the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition threatened this divided country's fragile calm.
The fighting began with opponents of the government setting tires ablaze to block the city's main roads, notably those leading to the international airport, where flights were suspended. Protesters said they were answering a call by labor unions to oppose government policies aimed at combating inflation, but the unions in the end canceled a planned march because of the chaos. [More]
Robert Fisk
Lebanon descends into chaos as rival leaders order general strike
May 08, 2008 - The Independent - Burning tyres on the airport road, flights suspended, demands from the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt that Hizbollah moves secret cameras from runway 1-7 and end the militia's equally secret underground communications equipment. Across Corniche Mazraa, crowds of shrieking Sunni and Shia Muslims hurl abuse and stones at each other. A soldier comes up to my car at the crossroads. "Turn round," he shouts. "They're shooting."
Lebanon seems to feed on crisis, need crisis, breathe crisis, like a wounded man needs blood. The man who should be the president is head of the army and the man who believes he leads the resistance – Sayed Hassan Nasrallah of the Hizbollah – accuses Mr Jumblatt of doing Israel's work while Mr Jumblatt claims the head of Beirut airport security, Colonel Wafic Chucair, works for the Hizbollah and should be fired. [More]
All sea and air routes blocked as riots paralyze Beirut
Lebanon's anti-government protest turns violent
May 08, 2008 - AlArabia.net - Supporters of Lebanon's U.S.-backed government fought gun battles in Beirut on Wednesday with gunmen loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, escalating the country's worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Supporters of pro-Iranian Hezbollah blocked main roads in the Lebanese capital with blazing tyres, old cars and heaps of earth, paralyzing the city and cutting routes to its sea and airports. [More]
Clashes erupt in Lebanon as Hezbollah stages labor strike
Associated Press
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Hezbollah opposition supporters and government backers exchanged gunfire and threw stones Wednesday as a strike by the Shiite militant group paralyzed large parts of Beirut.
The violence deepened tensions in a country already mired in a 17-month-old political crisis pitting the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah against the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. The troubles have left the country without a president since November.
Explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the city. The cause of the explosions was not immediately known. Few injuries were reported and most were from stone-throwing. [More]
Lebanon braces for general strike amid rising political tensions
Agence France Press
BEIRUT (AFP) - May 07, 2008 - Lebanese workers were preparing for a general strike on Wednesday to demand more money despite the government having raised the minimum wage, amid fears that protests could escalate into clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian camps.
The government announced on Tuesday that it was raising the minimum wage across the board from 200 to 330 dollars (193 euros) a month. In addition, public sector workers will receive a bonus of 130 dollars a month, with state retires getting a 95 dollar hike to their pensions.
"The government's decisions are insufficient and ambiguous," General Confederation of Labour Unions chief Ghassan Ghosn told AFP, blasting the fact that the increases do not apply to private sector employees now earning more than the the new minimum wage. [More]
Lebanon's political conflict turns violent
Reuters
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Supporters of Lebanon's U.S.-backed government fought gun battles in Beirut on Wednesday with gunmen loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, escalating the country's worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Supporters of pro-Iranian Hezbollah blocked main roads in the Lebanese capital with blazing tires, old cars and heaps of earth, paralyzing the city and cutting routes to its sea and airports.
The clashes took place a day after the government accused Hezbollah of violating the country's sovereignty by operating its own telecommunications network and installing spy cameras at Beirut airport. [More]