At least 11 people have been killed and scores wounded in fierce gun battles that erupted in Beirut’s Moslem sector on Friday, Sunni neighborhoods loyal to the current Lebanese government, after Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah made good his threats and ordered his gunmen to surround strategic Beirut neighborhoods, take over the radio and airport and surround the homes of Sunni leader Saád Hariri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was said to be holed up in his office with a number of government ministers downtown, surrounded by a heavy Lebanese Army and Police presence.
On Thursday Nasrallah threatened to fight any attempts to disarm Hizbullah after the Lebanese government decided to declare Hizbullah telecommunications network illegal. In a televised speech on Thursday Nasrallah said the decision was tantamount to war. After surrounding Jumblatt and Haririri’s homes, Hizbullah offered the officials permission to leave their residence under the protection of the Lebanese Army and travel northward, an offer that was rejected.Speaking from his residence, Jumblatt told the LBC television that he intended to remain in his home with Lebanese Army protection,. and warned Hizbullah, that no one could take over Beirut unilaterally. In response to the events in the North, Israeli President Shimon Peres declared that the unleashed violence was obviously an attempt by Iran to take over the Middle East. While Israel is not involved in the conflict whatsoever, Peres said that the bloody violence was a tragedy for the residents of Lebanon. He added that he hoped civil war would be avoided.The fight could have implications for the entire Middle East at a time when Sunni-Shi'ite tensions are high. The tensions are fueled in part by the rivalry between predominantly Shi'ite Iran, which sponsors Hizbullah , and Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. An emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss the crisis will be held in two days, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki. The offices of the affiliated al-Mustaqbal newspaper in the coastal neighborhood of Ramlet el-Bayda were also set ablaze by gunmen and white smoke could be seen billowing from the building. The army subsequently took over the area and firefighters extinguished the blaze. Lebanese troops were also evacuating the staff of the TV station's terrestrial and satellite studios in the Kantari area of western Beirut, said Nadim Mounla, the station's chief. He said gunmen massed near the station and "asked through the army to close down or it will be destroyed." The army has largely avoided getting involved in the street battles, preferring to remain above the political fray for fear of being dragged into the conflict. The institution could break up on sectarian lines if it takes on the powerful Hizbullah group or any major party. A rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the fence of the heavily protected residence of Hariri in the neighborhood of Koreitem in Moslem western Beirut, security officials said. Hariri is believed to be in the residence.About 100 Hizbullah gunmen in identical camouflage uniforms wearing baseball caps and black flak jackets marched down the Muslim sector's main commercial Hamra Street, a Sunni area, and took up positions on corners and sidewalks. They stopped the few cars braving the empty streets and checked their trunks. Dozens of fighters from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a Hizbullah ally, also appeared in the streets off Hamra, some masked and carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Shops in the normally bustling commercial district were closed save for a few pharmacies and grocery stores. 05/09/08
Margot Dudkevitch and news agencies
Infolive.tv
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