2008 Lebanon conflict

2008 unrest in Lebanon
Map of Lebanon
Date May 7, 2008 - Location Beirut, Bekaa Valley (Lebanon) Result Ongoing Opposition forces take control of West Beirut.
Belligerents
File:Tayyar-mostakbal.jpg Future Movement File:Psp-leb.jpg PSP	File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah Amal File:Ssnpflag.gif Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)
Casualties and losses
Unknown	2 killed (Druze), 1 killed (Parliament Speaker's bodyguard) 10 killed (SSNP)
26 civilians killed

The 2008 unrest in Lebanon began on May 7, after Lebanon's 17-month long political crisis spiralled out of control. The fighting was sparked by a government move on Monday to shut down Hezbollah's telecoms network and remove Beirut airport's security chief over alleged ties to Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the government's decision Tuesday to declare the group's military telecommunications network illegal was tantamount to declaring war on the organization, and demanded that the government revoke it.

Hezbollah's gunmen seized control of several West Beirut neighborhoods from Sunni foes loyal to the United States-backed government, in street battles that left 11 dead and 30 wounded. The opposition-seized areas were then handed up to the Lebanese Army, the only neutral institution in the country. The army has also pledged to resolve the dispute and has reversed the decisions of the government by letting Hezbollah preserve its telecoms network and re-instating the airport's security chief.

It is said to be the worst sectarian strife since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

Background

Political crisis

Main articles: 2006–2007 Lebanese political protests and 2005-2007 Lebanon bombings

On December 1, 2006, a series of protests and sit-ins began in Lebanon, led by groups that opposed the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The opposition group was made up of pro-Syrian, Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Amal, and the anti-Syrian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM). A number of smaller parties were also involved, including the Marada Movement, the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The majority of the members of the government were part of the pro-U.S March 14 Alliance, a coalition of formerly pro-Syrian political parties and former militias in Lebanon. The two groups were also divided along religious lines, Sunnis supporting the government and Shi'a supporting the opposition group. Druze aligned with Walid Jumblatt support the government, while those allied to Talal Arslan have backed the opposition. The Christian community was divided, with almost 80% almost supporting the Free Patriotic Movement and the opposition.

May 2008 controversies

In May 2008 the tensions between the government and the opposition escalated when the government announced a series of security decisions. Heads of the Western-backed government accused Hezbollah of preparing for a terrorist attack, which was dismissed by Hezbollah as scare mongering.

On May 7 2008 a labor strike which was planned before the month of May turned into violence when pro-government gunmen started their shootings, leading to clashes among the two groups in Beirut. The next day, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah stated on television that the communications network was essential in the militant group's resistance against Israel. Nasrallah further said that the government was declaring war by threatening to shut down the group’s private communications network and persecuting those controlling it.

Protests

On May 7 2008, a syndicate strike led by the opposition in response to high prices and government policies paralyzed large parts of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The clashes began when government and opposition supporters in a Muslim sector of Beirut exchanged insults and began throwing stones at each other. Witnesses said security forces intervened and gunshots were heard, apparently troops firing in the air to disperse the crowds. A soldier and a cameraman for Hezbollah's Al-Manar television were among the injured from the stone throwing. Earlier in the same area, a stun grenade thrown into a crowd lightly injured three protesters and two soldiers.

Around the city, protesters blocked roads with burning tires. The road toward Beirut international airport was blocked and cut off from the rest of the city by opposition supporters.

Armed clashes

On May 8 2008, minutes after Nasrallah's comments on television, which was meant to calm the situation, heavy street battles began. Fighting began along Corniche Mazraa, an avenue separating Shiite and Sunni areas, spreading to the western, southern and eastern parts of Beirut where Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods overlapped. Combat was heard near the office of Lebanon's Sunni religious leader - an ally of the pro-American government - and near the official residence of the opposition-aligned parliament speaker. Machine guns and rocket propelled grenades were used by both sides. Hezbollah militants overran three pro-government offices. More barricades were set up, closing major highways. A CNN correspondent, pinned down with a Lebanese army unit during an intense gun battle, reported that government forces have not reacted to the violence. The army decided not to intervene in the clashes for fear of a breakup of the army along sectarian lines, which happened during the civil war.

By the end of the second day of fighting, one member of the parliament's security force and six civilians were killed. Two soldiers were among the dozens of wounded.

Fighting from the previous day lasted throughout the night and only stopped for a short time a little bit after dawn on May 9 2008. However, the fighting quickly resumed after the brief lull.

Late in the afternoon, Sunni forces in Beirut had surrendered their arms to Hezbollah. Their control of Beirut was peacefully transferred to the army. Fierce gun battles raged in the mixed Sunni-Shiite-Christian neighbourhood of Hamra where opposition militants also appeared to be gaining ground. The main pro-government TV station was occupied by Hezbollah and burned down.

Later that evening sporadic clashes erupted in Sidon, where two civilians were killed; and in Bar Elias in the Bekaa Valley where a woman was killed. The toll of the fighting by the end of May 9 2008 was at least 18 killed and 38 wounded.

On May 10 2008, a Sunni funeral procession in Beirut was attacked, leaving six people dead. An Associated Press photographer who witnessed the shooting said the attack came as a procession of 200 people headed toward a nearby cemetery to bury a 24-year-old killed in previous fighting. At least 12 people were killed in north Lebanon in clashes between the rival supporters. Later that day, Hezbollah and its allies said they would withdraw their gunmen from Beirut. At least 29 people have been killed, four days after Beirut street battles have ignited.

Reactions

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice strongly reaffirmed U.S. support for the Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and reached out to key world leaders for ways to buttress his government. "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. Rice denounced the violence and singled out Syria and Iran for backing Hezbollah, which she accused of trying "to protect their state within a state."

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora urged the Lebanese army restore order, assuring that the country won't fall to Hezbollah after four days of clashes. He also stated that his government would never declare war on the Shiite group.

See also

• 2006–2007 Lebanese political protests
• Amal Movement
• Cedar Revolution
• Fouad Siniora
• Free Patriotic Movement