Analysis: Hezbollah, Lebanon at Odds

Two young Lebanese girls walk amongst the rubble of a house that was destroyed following Israeli bombardment during the 34-day long Hezbollah-Israel conflict in the southern village of Marwaheen, Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006. Hezbollah acknowledged targeting civilians in rocket attacks on Israel, but said it fired in response to Israeli attacks _ rejecting an Amnesty International report Thursday that accused the guerrillas of violating international humanitarian law. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) (Alvaro Barrientos - AP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A month after fighting in Lebanon ended, hostilities with Israel have given way to a political struggle between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah as Lebanese troops try to take control of the Islamic militant group's longtime southern stronghold.

The outcome could prove crucial to the stability of the cease-fire with Israel and to the future of Lebanon's fragile central government _ at a time when Syria, a key patron of Hezbollah, is trying to claw back the influence it lost last year.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora on Thursday vowed to impose army control over the south, a day after Hezbollah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah boasted that his armed fighters remained in villages and towns on the border with Israel.

"We want this area to be under the army's and the Lebanese state's control," Saniora said.

Neither the 15,000 Lebanese troops nor an equal number of U.N. peacekeepers who are to patrol a buffer zone in the south have the mandate or willpower to forcibly disarm Hezbollah.

But the presence of 30,000 soldiers will prevent Hezbollah from flaunting its weapons and is likely to severely limit its activities. Hezbollah has all but run a state-within-a-state in the south, with its armed wing, role in government and strong social services network.

Another possible source of friction is the effort to stop Hezbollah from bringing in new weapons to rebuild its arsenal. Iran is believed to be its main arms supplier and financial backer.

For years the government ignored the shipments, but is now heightening checks at the borders, while European warships are patrolling Lebanese waters. European Union personnel are to monitor Beirut international airport and Syria's border with Lebanon for weapons imports.

The Lebanese army has been sending thousands of troops to the south, where it has been absent for decades, and has been taking over control of border areas as the Israeli forces withdraw.

There are signs Hezbollah is already chafing and turning its anger at Saniora.

At a rally last week in a part of Beirut's southern suburbs destroyed by Israeli bombing Hezbollah mounted its first public show of strength since the fighting ended on Aug. 14, rallying tens of thousands of people to hear speeches demanding the government's resignation.

Nasrallah, in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV, called Saniora's administration an American tool and said it did nothing to defend Lebanon against Israel.