Posted on 05/09/2008 8:36:26 AM PDT by freerepublic_or_die
Hezbollah fighters, their guns blazing, seized control of west Beirut on Friday after three days of street battles with pro-government foes pushed Lebanon dangerously close to all-out civil war.
The sectarian fighting had eased by early afternoon and the army and police moved across areas now in the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite opposition forces who routed Sunni militants loyal to the Western-backed government.
"There are no clashes anymore because no one is standing in the way of the opposition forces," a security official said as convoys of gunmen firing celebratory shots into the air and flashing the victory sign took to the streets.
But as foreigners scrambled to leave the troubled nation, it was unclear what the immediate future would hold, amid fears the protracted political feud could plunge Lebanon back to the dark days of the 1975-1990 civil war.
"All those who believe in democracy and pluralism are under siege in Beirut," said Social Affairs Minister Nayla Moawad.
Terrified residents cowered inside early Friday as the rattle of gunfire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades rang out across mainly Muslim west Beirut.
Sunni government loyalists fought running battles with Shiite gunmen, routing them from their strongholds and forcing the closure of the media outlets run by the family of parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri.
At least 11 people have been killed and dozens wounded in three days of fighting that dramatically escalated on Thursday after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said a government crackdown on his powerful militant group was a declaration of war.
Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, hailed Friday's events in the besieged capital as a "victory for Lebanon."
(Excerpt) Read more at afp.google.com ...
You beat me to it. Iran is the world’s largest exporter of terror. They need to be dealt with - now.
Al-Qaeda is Sunni and they hate Hezbollah so just maybe this will give al-Qaeda a new bone to chew on?
So the Christians are allied with Hezbollah?
Carolyn
Pish tosh, leaders have called for us to remain clam. UN Security Council members are “deeply concerned.” Eqypt has said “don’t do that.” The Lebanese Prime Minister is out of the country (wonderful timing, eh?) and will meet with GWB in Eqypt. Hundreds of riot police and troops patrol the city - of course with orders not to intervene, but hey, remain clam.
No, the Christians are divided. That’s the problem.
Doesn't sound like much of a "battle".
Someone needs to attack hizboullah, get them on the ropes and then call for a cease fire just as they are starting to get the message.....oh, wait...
No, they’re not. For more background (accurate) on Aoun, look at the Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Aoun.
It’s a complicated situation in terms of alliances. The Christians are caught between two fires, which is, of course, one of the reasons that the Christian population of Lebanon has plunged as Christians flee.
Yassar Arafat made sure christians were routed out of their villages in southern Lebannon in the early 1980s. The PLO backed militias shelled christian villages, then moved in and murdered all the men, raped the women, and burned the churches. Most christians are now located in small enclaves around Beirut. Many have moved to Europe. Decades of control of Beirut by Syria only weakened them more. Its a tragedy. Beirut was considered the Paris of the middle east. Then the religion of peace showed up in greater numbers and guess what happened. Civil wars and Hezbollah.
Some are, some aren’t.
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