Middle East News

17 dead in northern Lebanon - new clashes near Beirut (1st Lead)

May 11, 2008, 13:24 GMT

Beirut - Seventeen people were reported killed in northern Lebanon Sunday - while fresh clashes were reported southeast of Beirut between the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and followers to Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, police Said. Machinegun fire and heavy artillery echoed throughout the village of Aitat, 20 kilometres southeast of Beirut, and sources close to Jumblatt told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the army was trying to contain the situation. A witness told dpa Jumblatt militiamen were seen carrying their guns and heading to the area. There were no immediate reports of casualties but people living in the area reached by telephone said mortar fire fell near their homes, and ambulance sirens wailed. Seventeen people were earlier reported killed when heavy fighting broke out at dawn between pro- and anti-government supporters in northern Lebanon. The situation eased off after army soldiers were sent into Lebanon's second largest city, where overnight there was heavy fighting in two areas, Bab al Tabbneh and Jabal Mohsen. Sources in Tripoli told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, that 'massacres were registered in the fighting.' Gunmen carrying machineguns and pistols were fighting street-to-street battles. The fighting eased off by mid-morning when the army entered and called on all militias to pull back. A security official said the fighting was between Sunni supporters of the Western-backed government and members of an Alawite sect loyal to Hezbollah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran. He added that thousands of people were fleeing the clashes to safer areas after residents reported heavy machinegun fire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades. Bab al-Tabbaneh is a Sunni district while Jabal Mohsen is mainly Alawite. The Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam who revere Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has been accused of backing Hezbollah, is an Alawite. Beirut saw a relative calm return after four days of fierce sectarian fighting between mainly Sunni supporters of the ruling majority and Shiite opposition militias. No armed elements could be seen on the streets early Sunday, but some barricades put up by militants remained and the airport road was shut for the fifth straight day. The Shiite opposition announced on Saturday it was ending its takeover of large sectors of west Beirut after the army revoked government measures against Hezbollah, which had sparked days of deadly fighting. 'The opposition welcomes the army's decision and will proceed with the withdrawal of all its armed elements so that control of the capital is handed over to the military but it will continue its civil disobedience,' an opposition statement said. The announcement came shortly after the army said it was overturning a government decision to sack the head of Beirut airport security, who is close to Hezbollah, and to probe a Hezbollah communications network. In a television address to the nation the western-backed premier Fouad Seniora accused Hezbollah, of staging an armed coup and urged the army to step in and restore order. Seniora urged all Lebanese to stand for a minute of silence at noon (0900 GMT) on Sunday in remembrance of victims of the unrest and to express their rejection of the violence. Most people in the capital were seen hanging Lebanese flags on their balconies and some even hanged placards that read 'Lebanon is for all the Lebanese ... Militias should get out of Beirut.' Near major hotels in Beirut, many foreigners who had been stuck in the capital, were seen taking buses leaving the country by road to Syria. However, the eastern border crossing of Masnaa was still blocked by pro-government supporters. 'I left my house and came to the hotel on Thursday, and now I am heading back to my country through Syria,' a Frenchwoman told dpa. Lebanon's political crisis, which first erupted in November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit the cabinet, has left it without a president since November, when pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down. The crisis in Lebanon is widely seen as an extension of the confrontation pitting the United States and its Arab allies against Syria and Iran. The Arab League was set Sunday to hold an emergency meeting in Egypt on the crisis amid regional Sunni Muslim fears about Shiite Iran's influence in divided Lebanon. Political analyst Rafik Khoury, did not expect much from the meeting. 'We cannot expect much from this meeting, but the Arab leaders should be aware that if the situation in Lebanon deteriorates it will spill outside the borders towards their countries and their regimes might be threatened as well,' Khoury warned.

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Christian LebaneseMay 11th, 2008 - 15:38:33

To answer to this comment:
1- 50% of the Lebanese population is Christian
2- 90% of the people being killed are innocent civilians, including children whatever religion belong to
3- I don't understand how such stupid comments can be published on the web.

From a Christian Lebanese

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CourtneyMay 11th, 2008 - 18:28:31

My husband is over there and I'm so worried about him and his family :(

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CourtneyMay 11th, 2008 - 18:31:48

He's in Jabal Mohsen and for the person who made the comment about killing 5 more zeros, you are heartless!

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Ok Christian Lebanese person.May 11th, 2008 - 19:18:25

Stop everyone just stop. All this killing and senseless violence it's just too much now. Just be nice to everyone and stop bombing buses and raiding towns and murdering innocent people. Stop killing in the name of Allah.
It's hurting our feelings. I wonder if this tactic will work? What do you think?

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LarryHMay 11th, 2008 - 22:48:31

Let me get this straight. Hezbollah won't disarm as demanded by the legitimate (elected) Lebanese government and the U.N. They say they need to keep their weapons to continue the 'resistance' to Israel. I don't see Israel fighting in Lebanon, I only see an Iranian proxy trying to take over a secular government by force. Hezbollah needs to go away...

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WOW...May 12th, 2008 - 00:12:25

Larry Hagman talkiung politics! I'm thrillossified!

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SamratMay 12th, 2008 - 05:54:05

Hezbollah is part of the elected government along with some of their christian allies, obviously the lot of the negative comments are from powerless white men whose government has squandered their money, children and global capital fighting wars for israel and conquest, wish we had a militia again in this great country USA maybe blackwater and the government wouldnt be so cocky and bold. Long live the free men who protect home and majority rule first before ranting ignorantly

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Dear sam-RATMay 12th, 2008 - 14:06:07

I have a l'il message for you sir. They would kill you too with no discretion. If you were in the area they'd blow you up or shoot you like all the other innocents that have died. You would be as dead as the rest.
They don't care about your claims of freedom and a better political way of life.
America, has a sense of humor because they are far more worldly and know in their hearts that even though Bush is funding this war with our pockets and allowing oil prices to jack up on the daily when we have as much oil here as the Saudis and don't really need their oil but he wants to maintain foreign trade policies in the name or guise of peace.
We know terrorism must end and the world will eventually see peace some good will come from all this damned Killing!

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DahoumMay 12th, 2008 - 17:45:54

The 'legitimate', 'elected' government of Lebanon is not 'secular', it is sectarian. The entire governmental structure of Lebanon has always been sectarian. That's the way the French wanted it to be. Thus the Lebanese would remain so weak and divided that they would continue to need French support to maintain order after receiving their nominal independence. The French tried to do the same to Syria.

Today an infernal alliance of the US, Israel and the Saudis are inserting themselves in the neocolonial role the French created, while Iran has a neocolonial agenda of its own under way in Lebanon ans Iraq. Rightfully, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine/Israel and Iraq should all be one nation, so I can't accuse Syria of having any sort of imperial motivation regarding Lebanon.

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semanticsMay 12th, 2008 - 19:51:10

A word is a word. People are dead. Who cares what we call them the killing must stop. How do we get them to stop? We can't really even if the US pulls out they will keep killing in retaliation for having been policed the wat we have. So...answers? Suggestions?

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GhadaMay 13th, 2008 - 01:10:43

All we want is Peace in our country...No foreign agendas..I know that reality is far from that..But as citizens of Lebanon, we all must stand together. We must learn from past mistakes and wars. I am not living in Lebanon right now but my heart and soul are with all my fellow compatriots. My parents fled Lebanon during the civil war and now , I am living with my family overseas , when my deepest wish is for us to live in Lebanon. When are we going to be in Peace? Please stop your hateful comments to each other and try to support your country. Be patriotic. Think about what you can do for YOUR COUNTRY.

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as I stated...May 13th, 2008 - 19:02:19

answers? Suggestions?

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