5 Dead After Speech By Hezbollah Leader Reignites Fighting
By Alia Ibrahim and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers and Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, May 9, 2008
BEIRUT, May 8 -- Fierce clashes continued for a second day in Lebanon after the leader of the Shiite Hezbollah movement accused the government of declaring war on his party.
Heavy fighting between supporters of the pro-Western government and the opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran, left five people dead and at least 10 injured, according to police and hospital officials.
Makeshift barriers divided neighborhoods across Beirut, whose streets were empty of traffic. Masked armed men in civilian clothes set up checkpoints and asked passersby for their identity cards.
The clashes took on a sectarian cast as mainly Shiite opposition members battled predominantly Sunni supporters of the government. Christian Lebanese on both sides of the country's political divide largely stayed out of the fighting.
At the United Nations, special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen warned the Security Council that the outbreak of fighting was the worst since the country's 1975-1990 civil war. U.S. officials condemned Hezbollah and said the United States and other governments would also hold Syria responsible.
Lebanon's political crisis deepened this week after the government announced it would dismantle a Hezbollah telecommunications network and reassign a Shiite army officer in charge of security at Beirut's international airport.
After a relatively calm morning, clashes worsened Thursday afternoon following a speech and news conference by Hezbollah's secretary general, Hasan Nasrallah, who said the party would defend its communications system.
"The government's decisions were a declaration of war, and we have to defend our weapons. . . . Weapons will be used to defend the weapons," he said, demanding that the "black gang" -- a reference to the government -- withdraw its "dark decisions."
Later in the evening, pro-government parliament member Saad Hariri proposed a four-point plan to avoid further escalation, including the election of army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as president and the resumption of national dialogue. Lebanon's political crisis started with the resignation of Shiite ministers from the cabinet in 2006 and has left the country without a president since last November.
Lebanese politicians say they support Suleiman, but they have been unable to convene parliament in order to elect him.
Hezbollah and Amal, an allied Shiite movement, declared Hariri's initiative unacceptable, insisting that the initiatives in the streets would be suspended only after Nasrallah's conditions had been met.
Many Lebanese believe that any solution to the present crisis must be sponsored by outside forces, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, which would intervene to avoid full-scale Sunni-Shiite strife.
U.S. officials said several major and regional powers, including Syrian allies, are alarmed about the sudden explosion of violence. A senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the behind-the-scenes diplomacy, said Russian, Turkish and key Arab leaders had told the Syrian government that it would be held responsible for Hezbollah's actions.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Hezbollah "needs to make a choice: Be a terrorist organization or be a political party, but quit trying to be both. They need to start playing a constructive role and stop their disruptive activities."
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that Hezbollah had "made progress in establishing a state within a state. They have not implemented agreements and resolutions with regard to disarming their militia. That in turn is encouraging other groups to rearm as well. There is a lack of progress because of their opposition in terms of the election of a president, although everyone has agreed on Mr. Suleiman."
Khalilzad said the Security Council should consider "additional steps" that could include sanctions if the crisis is not resolved quickly. He also said Syria shared some of the blame for recent events.
"It is outrageous that Syria claims Lebanon is a hostile neighbor when it is Damascus that continues to send weapons into Lebanon and is working to undermine the legitimate Lebanese government," he said.
The worst violence took place in the mixed neighborhoods of Mazraa and Ras al-Nabaa, where armed supporters of both parties fought for control. Men carried machine guns, and the sound of rocket-propelled grenade launchers could be heard as smoke filled the air. Some civilians fled the areas, while others sought safety in buildings.
Sunni supporters of Hariri's Future Movement, allied with the government, closed roads leading to the south and to the Bekaa Valley in the east in retaliation for Hezbollah's closure of the airport road.
A source close to the movement said that if a balance were created on the ground, it could encourage the army to take action and open all roads closed by both sides. So far, the army has not intervened except to attempt to negotiate settlements between fighting groups across Beirut.
Government officials said they were considering declaring a state of emergency, and opposition figures said civil disobedience could continue.
Many Lebanese voiced resignation.
"What's there to tell? We've lived a war; we know what it looks like; we haven't forgotten," said Youssef, a man in his 40s who declined to give his full name.
Wright reported from Washington.
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