Lebanon Struggles to Defuse Crisis

Lebanon Struggles to Defuse Crisis
Armed Clashes Break Out in North and East as Capital Appears Calmer

Beirut residents walk in the streets as a measure of calm returned to the city after days of fighting between opposition and government supporters. (By Kate Brooks -- Getty Images)

Soldiers move into downtown Beirut after the army called on gunmen to withdraw from the streets. Despite promising developments, at least 12 people were killed across Lebanon yesterday. (By Lefteris Pitarakis -- Associated Press)

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By Alia Ibrahim
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, May 11, 2008; Page A17

BEIRUT, May 10 -- Lebanon appeared torn between the possibilities of civil war and a settlement of its four-day-old crisis Saturday, as violence continued between the opposition and government supporters while efforts intensified to find a political solution.

Clashes in northern Lebanon and to a lesser extent in the capital, Beirut, left at least 12 people dead, according to security officials, bringing the number of casualties since hostilities broke out Wednesday to 35 dead and 125 wounded.

In Beirut's Tarik Jdideh neighborhood, a gunman opened fire at the funeral procession for a supporter of the Future Movement, a largely Sunni pro-government group, who had been killed in earlier fighting. Local news media said six people were killed in that incident. Other than that, the capital appeared calmer Saturday.

Clashes also erupted in northern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley in the east, where supporters of the Future Movement attacked offices of the Shiite opposition Hezbollah movement and its allies, in retaliation for what they considered the occupation of Beirut.

Fierce fighting with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades continued until late Saturday in Tripoli, in the north, but there was no word on casualties.

"People are angry, and they can't accept what's going on with folded hands," said Mosbah Ahdab, a member of parliament from Tripoli. He added that the only solution to the fighting would be for the army to impose its authority across the country and remove weapons from all parties.

Saad Hariri, the head of Future Movement, called on his supporters to calm down and to leave to the army the responsibility of resolving the situation.

The violence erupted in Beirut on Wednesday when a demonstration called by labor unions and supported by the Hezbollah-led opposition instead turned into a massive show of civil disobedience, accompanied by the closure of major roads, including all roads to the city's international airport.

Hezbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran, was protesting two decisions adopted by the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora earlier this week: to reassign a Shiite security official at the airport and to dismantle Hezbollah's private telecommunications network.

Fierce fighting in Beirut followed but was contained following a decision by two pro-government parties to release their arms to the army.

"Our only weapon is our position, and no matter how long this situation lasts, we will not be dragged into a war," said Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces, a former Christian militia turned political party.

The army, meanwhile, issued a statement calling for gunmen to withdraw from the streets. The statement also said that the army had decided to keep the head of security at Beirut's international airport in his post pending completion of an investigation and that it would deal with the issue of Hezbollah's phone network in a way that would safeguard both Hezbollah's security and the public interest.
That statement followed an announcement by Siniora turning the resolution of those two issues over to the military and calling for the immediate election of Gen. Michel Suleiman as consensus president and the withdrawal of fighters from the streets. Siniora called for the creation of a national unity government.

Soon after Siniora's remarks, Ali Hassan Khalil, a lawmaker from Amal, a Hezbollah ally, said the opposition will withdraw its gunmen from Beirut and turn over responsibility to the army while maintaining civil disobedience. Khalil accused the Siniora government of "carrying out a coup against the constitution."

In a separate news conference, Walid Jumblatt, leader of a pro-government party, said he is willing to accept a compromise with the Hezbollah-led opposition to prevent sectarian division in the country.

"This is not a humiliating compromise," Jumblatt said. "We prevented inter-factional clashes in Beirut and in the mountains, and we would prevent them throughout Lebanon."

Earlier Saturday, several hundred journalists gathered in the Tabaris area of Beirut to protest threats against a television network that had prompted it to temporarily suspend broadcasting.