2008 Lebanon conflict

2008 unrest in Lebanon Map of Lebanon Date May 7, 2008 - Location Lebanon Result Ongoing Opposition forces take control of West Beirut and hand it over to the Lebanese Army Army revokes government's decisions against Hezbollah Opposition forces clear out Mount Lebanon of pro-government forces Belligerents File:Tayyar-mostakbal.jpgMovement of the Future File:Psp-leb.jpgProgressive Socialist Party File:Flag of Hezbollah.svgHezbollah Amal Movement File:Ssnpflag.gifSyrian Social Nationalist Party, Lebanese Democratic Party Casualties and losses 4 killed (government loyalists) 9 killed (Hezbolah), 9 killed (SSNP), 2 killed (LDP), 1 killed (Amal) 26 civilians killed, 2 soldiers 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 telecomunication 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 a "declaration of war" on the organization, and demanded that the government revoke it.

Hezbollah's gunmen seized control of several West Beirut neighborhoods from Sunni Future Movement militiamen loyal to the government, in street battles that left 11 dead and 30 wounded. The opposition-seized areas were then handed over to the Lebanese Army. 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

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 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 many political parties including Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party and Lebanese Forces. The two groups were also divided along religious lines, the majority of Sunnis supporting the government and the 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; the Free Patriotic Movement support the opposition while the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party support the government. The distribution of popularity amongst Christians is a controversial subject, however, most of the Christians support Michel Aoun, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.

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 3, leaders of the government accused Hezbollah of setting up a hidden, remote-controlled camera in a container park overlooking the main runway of Beirut's international airport. The accusation is that the radical Shia movement, which controls the suburbs where the airport is located, was spying on air traffic in preparation for a possible attack, perhaps aimed at assassinating one of the prominent pro-government figures who fly in and out of the facility. Hezbollah dismissed the accusations as scare mongering, saying that those who levelled them were simply parroting a US campaign against it and other groups which are resisting Israel. Later , Al Jadeed, a Lebanese TV station, confirmed that the cameras could not see above the airports security wall and therefore would be useless to spy on the airport.

On May 6 2008 the government attempted to disable Hezbollah's private communications network. Hezbollah is reported to operate an extensive fixed-line telecommunications network covering its strongholds of south and east Lebanon, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Hezbollah has made clear that it regards the private network as an integral part of its defensive measures against Israel. The government also ordered the commander of security at Beirut international airport, Brig Gen Wafiq Shuqeir, to return to the Army Command who had been suspected of sympathising with Hezbollah, and accused of failing to deal with a secret camera allegedly set up by Hezbollah in a container overlooking the main runway, to monitor the movement of aircraft and VIPs.

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 the Lebanese army.

Armed clashes

May 8 - May 9: Takeover of Beirut

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 had 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.

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, pro-government forces in Beirut had surrendered their arms to Hezbollah. Hezbollah moved in and took over their abandoned positions in west Beirut, virtually taking over more than half of the capital. About 100 Shiite armed Hezbollah militants in camouflage uniforms marched down Hamra Street, a normally vibrant commercial strip in a mainly Sunni area of Beirut. However, several of the non-Shiite neighborhoods were soon evacuated by the militants and their control was peacefully transferred to the army. 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. Also, eight people were killed near the town of Aley in clashes between government supporters and opponents. Seven Hezbollah fighters were among the dead.

May 10 - May 11: Aley falls and fighting spreads north

On May 10 2008, a Sunni funeral procession in Beirut was attacked, leaving two 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 pro-government supporter killed in previous fighting. At least 12 people were killed in northern Lebanon in the town of Halba in clashes between the rival supporters. Nine of the dead were SSNP members while three were government loyalists. Meanwhile, in a mountain town east of Beirut a pro-government Druze group kidnapped three Hezbollah members and shot and stabbed two of them to death. One other person was killed in fighting in Sidon and two soldiers died in fighting east of Beirut. At least 40 people have been killed, four days after Beirut street battles have ignited.

On the other hand, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the decision on the communications issue would be dealt with by the army. The Lebanese army said it had frozen measures taken by the government against the Hezbollah movement, and called for all armed militants to withdraw from the streets. Then Hezbollah TV announced that Hezbollah-led opposition forces would withdraw all their gunmen from Beirut in compliance with the Lebanese army's request, but a civil disobedience campaign will continue until the group's demands are met.

During the night between May 10 and May 11, heavy fighting broke out between Hezbollah sympathisers and supporters of the government in Tripoli. Three people were killed.

On May 11, Beirut was quiet on Sunday, after control of areas seized by Hezbollah was handed to the Lebanese army but many roads in the capital remained blocked, including the airport road, as Hezbollah continued a campaign of civil disobedience. In Tripoli, Sunni supporters of the government have reportedly been fighting members of an Alawite sect loyal to Hezbollah with machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Heavy fighting broke out in Mount Lebanon between pro-goverment Progressive Socialist miltiamen and opposition forces - mainly LDP, SSNP and Twahid Party - the clashes started in Aytat, near Kayfoun and soon expanded to cover many spots in Mount Lebanon including Baysur, Shuweifat and Aley, artillery and mortar were used for the first time during these battles, a ceasefire agreement was supposed to take place at 18:00 of the same day, nonetheless fighters from both sides continued to exchange fire, negotiations are ongoing for the PSP militiamen to surrender their positions to Lebanese Army. Anti-government forces bombarded the pro-government Druze area with artillery while ground forces attacked Druze positions using rockets and machine guns. Later that evening control of several villages loyal to Lebanon's pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has been handed to the army after an attack by Hezbollah.

The battles at Aley stopped for several hours, but the two sides clashed again in Mount Barook to the southeast shortly before midnight. Barook separates the Druze heartland of Shouf from the mainly Shi'ite southern end of the Bekaa Valley.

May 12 - present: Renewed fighting in Beirut

After a day of relative quiet in Beirut renewed gunfire was heard in the commercial area of Hamra in the western part of the city shortly after midnight on May 12. The fighting occured near the home of Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri. A two-man Al Jazeera camera crew suffered injuries while trying to film the fighting and were evacuated by the Lebanese army.

Reactions

United States Assistant Secretary of State Sean McCormack discussing the unrest in Lebanon

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, in what many viewed as a provocative speech, urged the Lebanese army restore order, assuring that the country won't fall to Hezbollah after four days of clashes.

On May 11 Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have urged an immediate halt to the fighting in Lebanon and agreed to send a ministerial delegation to Beirut to try to mediate an end to the crisis.

Many Sunni Muslim religious figures have appeared on television, publicly denouncing the government's unpatriotic alignment with the Bush administration, the neo-cons and Israel and its hostility to Hezbollah and the Lebanese resistance.

Casualties

During the heavy battles in Beirut and east and north of the city 53 people were killed and 164 were wounded. Among the dead were confirmed to be 21 opposition fighters and 2 soldiers along with at least 4 pro-government fighters. The remaining 26 dead were presumed to be civilians, but more killed pro-government supporters could have been among them.

See also

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