Region | Lebanon
Fighting rages in Lebanon mountains between pro and anti-government supporters
Tense calm in Beirut as Hezbollah defies army deal to wrest control of central hills.
- Gulf News Report
- Published: 17:32 May 11, 2008
- The army has been called in to the north of the country to try and calm down the fighting
- Image Credit: AP
Dubai: Hopes of a political solution in Lebanon were shattered on Sunday as the fighting moved up to the country's central mountains overlooking Beirut, for the fist time in two decades.
The Hezbollah-led opposition said its supporters won control of most of the Aley area in the Chouf mountains, until yesterday in control of pro-government supporters of Druze leader Walid Junblatt.
The fierce clashes broke out at a time when Arab foreign ministers struggled to find a way out of the escalating crisis in a meeting held in Cairo that was boycotted by key player Syria.
The Lebanese army moved last night into the mountains where the clashes claimed at least five lives, according to witnesses, raising the number of deaths since the crisis started last week to 50.
Rival factions used machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and mortar in the fighting, the first in that region since the end of the civil war 18 years ago.
Junblatt's rival, the other Druze leader Talal Arslan, said his supporters were overrunning enemy positions and handing over their foes to the army. A ceasefire agreement was declared but witnesses said the fighting continued into the night.
Sunday's fresh fighting threatens an agreement reached by the warring factions on Saturday to give the army security control across the country. A political agreement had also been expected to break the long deadlock that left Lebanon without a president since last November.
Meanwhile, uneasy calm prevailed in Beirut following an agreement between the government and the opposition to allow the army to take control of the streets, and withdraw fighters from the neighbourhoods.
But in northern Lebanon, particularly in Tripoli, pro-government supporters in the Tebaneh neighbourhood exchanged rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine gun fire with opposition followers on Saturday night.
League appeals for end to violence
Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers holding crisis talks in Cairo appealed for an end to violence in Lebanon .
"In view of the danger of the situation in Lebanon, the council of ministers sends out an urgent appeal for an immediate end to violence in Mount Lebanon [Druze regions] and other areas," Ahmad Bin Hilli, assistant secretary-general for political affairs, said reading from a statement.
A final statement was due later.
One notable absence was Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mua'alem whose country has been blamed for the troubles of its smaller neighbour.
At the opening session, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Yousuf, who chaired Sunday's session, told fellow ministers that "a number of steps and measures to resolve the situation in Lebanon have been put forward".
He called on the different parties in Lebanon to "exercise restraint and cooperate with Arab endeavours", stressing that the "Arab initiative for Lebanon is the only initiative on the table".
That initiative calls for the election of Lebanese army chief General Michel Sulaiman as president, the establishment of a national unity government and the holding of parliamentary elections.
Saudi Arabia, a key supporter and financier of the rump Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, had led calls for the meeting in the wake of the fighting that has killed nearly 40 people.
Saudi Arabia and fellow regional heavyweight, Egypt, have been strong supporters of Siniora and blamed Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian allies for the latest confrontation.
Israel review: 'Serious situation'
Israeli officials on Sunday called the situation in Lebanon "serious" and warned that Hezbollah has become stronger than ever. "Hezbollah's taking of control [in west Beirut] is a serious development," Defence Minister Ehud Barak said during the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Barak's view was shared by other Israeli ministers who raised doubts about the ability of the Lebanese government and army to control Hezbollah.
Israeli military intelligence chief General Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that "the moderate camp has suffered another blow in Beirut" against "Hezbollah which has shown its military strength," an official said.
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