Lebanon - the begining of a civil war?
| Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbollah, described the government's decision to dismantle Hizbollah wired communication network as a 'declaration of war' and he promised to 'cut off' any hand that reaches out to Hizbollah's defense systems or harms any of those working on it. His speech was a response to the government's decision to dismantle Hizbollah's telcom network and to replace the head of the the airport security, who's a Shia. There has been fighting in the streets of Beirut prior Nasrallah's speech between Shia and Sunni gunmen. The fighting continued overnight but on early Friday Hizbollah took over Western Beirut, which all the Muslim areas in Beirut (Sunna and Shia). It seems that the pro-government faction, supported by US and pro-US Arab governments, has badly miscalculated with the decision to dismantle Hizbollah's telcom network. Following Nasrallah's speech Sa'd Al-Hariri, the leader of the Sunni block, suggested the decision to dismantle Hizbollah's network to be left for the Lebanese army as a way to defuse the tensions but that was too little too late. The speaker of the parliament Nabih Birri, who heads Amal party, demanded that the government revoke it's decision. The situation in Lebanon has been deteriorating in the past two years. Lebanon's political stability is based on a fine balance between the different sects and religious groups. But the current government only includes some of the sects (excluding Shia and some Christian maronites). The country's political leaders, from all factions, also failed to agree on a president, a post reserved for Christian Maronites who're divided between the pro-government and the opposition. The opposition wants the government to be changed or made inclusive for a new president to be chosen but the pro-government grou are against it. The fear is that Lebanon will slide back into civil war specially if the Lebanese army, which is the only remaining neutral institution in the government, is pulled into the fighting. It seems the only way to stop the fighting immediately is for the government to revoke its earlier decisions. The minister of Youth had suggested for the government to resign as a way out. The Arab League failed in mediation efforts in Lebanon, it was also seen as favoring the pro-government group. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and US accused Hizbollah of starting a civil war, while Qatar and Syria agreed that the fighting in Lebanon is an internal matter. Yemeni president suggested that the head of Lebanese military, Michelle Suleiman, whom both the opposition and pro-government agree on as a president candidate, to be mediate between the two groups. The situation remains volatile but it seems Hizbollah will continue to control West Beirut while the army controls the pro-government areas. There's no fighting until in the Christian-dominated East Beirut. Labels: Arab, civil war, fighting, hizbollah, Lebanon, middle east |








