Hezbollah battles Druze east of Beirut, 5 dead

11 May 2008 15:55:19 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Hezbollah and Druze clash in mountains

* Arab foreign ministers call for ceasefire

* Lebanese troops patrol Beirut

(Updates casualties, adds Arab foreign ministers' statement)

By Laila Bassam

BEIRUT, May 11 (Reuters) - Shi'ites loyal to Lebanese opposition group Hezbollah battled Druze supporters of the ruling coalition east of Beirut on Sunday, adding to the worst civil strife since the 1975-90 war.

The fighting in Aley, a town in the mountains overlooking Beirut, and nearby villages was the latest violence between followers of Hezbollah, a group backed by Syria and Iran, and supporters of the U.S.-backed governing coalition.

At least five people were killed and 12 wounded, bringing the number of dead in five days of fighting throughout Lebanon to 49. At least 140 people have been wounded.

Hezbollah and allied Druze fighters took control of several village in the area, security sources said. A 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) ceasefire did not hold, witnesses said.

Black smoke rose from several villages as explosions and sound of gunfire echoed in the pine-covered hills and valleys of the picturesque area.

Arab foreign ministers, meeting in emergency session in Cairo, appealed for a ceasefire in Lebanon.

"The council (of Arab foreign ministers) appeals for an immediate halt of bombings and shooting, and the withdrawal of gunmen... and the enabling of the army to deploy in those areas," the Arab League said in a statement read by Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Bin Hilli.

An 18-month-old political conflict between the opposition and governing coalition spilled into open warfare on Wednesday after the government decided to move against a military communications network operated by Hezbollah and sacked the head of security at Beirut airport, who is close to the group.

Hezbollah called the move a declaration of war, saying the network had played a crucial role in its 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

CIVIL PEACE

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, whose followers were battling Hezbollah supporters in Aley, called on Talal Arsalan, a Druze leader allied to the Shi'ite group, to mediate an end to the fighting.

"I tell my supporters that civil peace, coexistence and stopping war and destruction are more important than any other consideration," Jumblatt told the pro-government LBC television station by telephone.

Arsalan later appealed to Hezbollah to hold its fire and said he would contact the army command to deploy forces in the area.

The latest clashes followed allegations by Hezbollah on Saturday that Jumblatt loyalists killed two of its members and held Jumblatt responsible for the safe return of a third member who was missing.

Hezbollah seized much of west Beirut on Friday after its fighters routed supporters of the anti-Syrian ruling coalition. Lebanese troops patrolled Beirut on Sunday after the group's fighters pulled back from areas they had taken.

Hezbollah agreed to withdraw its forces from Beirut after the Lebanese army overturned the government decisions. However, the Hezbollah-led opposition said it would maintain a campaign of civil disobedience until all its demands were met.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said his cabinet would meet soon to decide on Hezbollah's demand and the army's request that the government annul the decisions altogether.

In Beirut, hundreds of soldiers backed by armoured vehicles set up roadblocks and took up positions on the streets of the mainly Muslim part of the capital.

There were no gunmen in sight but youths maintained barricades on some crucial roads, ensuring Beirut's air and sea ports remained closed.

Hezbollah, a political group which has a guerrilla army, said on Saturday it was ending its armed presence in Beirut after the army overturned the government decisions against it.

While tension eased in Beirut, there was little progress in efforts to resolve the political disputes.

Pope Benedict called on Sunday for dialogue and an end to the violence.

The United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist group, a threat to Israel and a weapon in the hands of its arch-foe Iran, welcomed the end of the Beirut fighting.

Iran blamed Washington and said it backed an internal solution to the political deadlock in Beirut, where the opposition demands a greater say in government.

The governing coalition accuses Hezbollah of seeking to restore the influence of Syria, which was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in 2005

----------
In Lebanon's Druze mountain, mothers mourn 11 May 2008 16:20:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

SHOUEIFAT, Lebanon, May 11 (Reuters) - Flowers cover the bodies of two young Druze men laid out in a tree-lined courtyard among the hills overlooking Beirut, their mothers weeping over victims of Lebanon's latest civil strife.

"The happiest moment for me every day was when Alaa came back home. No other mother in Lebanon should go through this," said Lina Shaban as she stroked the neatly trimmed hair of her son before burial on Sunday.

"I hope their death will be a step towards the unity of Lebanon," Alaa's father added stoically.

But calls for reconciliation were drowned out by Kalashnikov-toting friends of Alaa Shaban and Afif Nasser, firing their rifles and rocket-propelled grenades in the air. Panicking residents ran for cover.

"We will revenge the death of Alaa and Afif. If the state does not do justice then will do it ourselves," one man told the crowd at the funeral.

The two, in their early 20s, were members of the opposition Lebanese Democratic Party, led by aristocrat Talal Arsalan.

They were stopped last week and shot by government loyalists in scenes Lebanon had last known during the 1975-1990 civil war, their relatives said.

"They thought they were Hezbollah members and simply shot them on the spot. There was not even a battle," one of the relatives said.

Scores of Druze clerics attended the funeral, including some loyal to rival sect leader Walid Jumblatt.

The Druze are an offshoot of Islam, comprising less than 10 percent of Lebanon's population. They have traditionally punched above their weight, leading a major revolt against French mandate rule in 1920s.

"When the Druze come under threat they stick together," one of the clerics said.

HAUNTING PAST

The area was scene of some of the worst bloodshed in the civil war. In the 1980s many Christian villages were stormed by Druze fighters. Shi'ite areas were spared.

Unlike most of the Druze community, the Lebanese Democratic Party supports the Shi'ite Hezbollah opposition group and is a rival to Jumblatt's larger National Socialist Progressive Party.

But the spectre of another civil war has brought them closer together.

Arsalan was asked by Jumblatt on Sunday to mediate with Hezbollah to "rescue civil peace" in the area after fierce fighting erupted a few hours after the funeral.

The politician warned of a repeat of the past.

"We cannot afford another sectarian conflict in the Mountain. There is no alternative to a national line the Druze pioneered," Arsalan said.

The previous conflict cost the lives of 150,000 people and sowed the seeds of sectarian divisions that have began to resurface in the recent fighting. (Editing by Keith Weir)