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Anti-Hezbollah protester shot dead,,
Anti-Hezbollah protester shot dead outside Iran’s embassy in Beirut
By Loveday Morris, Sunday, June 9, 8:30 PM
BEIRUT — A protester was shot dead in clashes outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut on Sunday as fragile Lebanon struggles to contain the backlash from the Shiite Hezbollah movement’s military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Around 30 demonstrators had gathered for a sit-in to protest Iran-backed Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria when they were attacked by a group of Hezbollah supporters brandishing sticks, witnesses said. The Lebanese army confirmed that gunfire had broken out, killing one of the demonstrators, but it was unclear if those shots were fired by the assailants or embassy guards.
There has been a surge in security incidents in Lebanon since Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite movement, announced his full backing for Assad in late May, compounding fears that the Syrian civil war, which has increasingly sectarian undertones, will enflame tensions in precariously balanced Lebanon.
The largely Sunni Free Syrian Army frequently fires rockets on Shiite areas of the Bekaa Valley, while last week saw the first serious clashes between Hezbollah and Syrian rebels on Lebanese soil. It followed the Syrian government’s capture of the border town of Qusair on Wednesday with backing from the movement’s elite guerrilla fighters.
A formidable political and military force in Lebanon, analysts have warned that Hezbollah’s increasingly visible role is likely to stir discontent not only between Sunnis and Shiites in the country, but also within the Shiite community itself.
Gen. Hassan Ayoub, a spokesman for the Lebanese army, said that Sunday’s protesters were supporters of Ahmed Asaad, a rare Shiite politician to take a stand against Hezbollah. He is head of the Lebanese Option Party, and ran unsuccessfully for parliament in 2009.
A photograph of the clashes taken by Reuters shows men in black shirts with yellow armbands — the color of Hezbollah’s flag — setting upon what appears to be an unarmed man in a white shirt and jeans. Another shows the men smashing the windows of a bus.
By mid-afternoon the streets around the embassy were quiet but around 50 soldiers were parked at the end of the street. Witnesses were reluctant to speak.
One local resident, who declined to be named because he feared reprisals, said that the embassy security guards had opened fire, but only shot in the air. A worker in a nearby grocery store agreed.
The army said in a statement that it is “pursuing” the person who opened fire and called on citizens to “express their political views on events in Lebanon and Syria by peaceful and democratic means and not to be driven by groups wanting to use violence as a means to achieve their ends.”
Even amid mounting anger against Hezbollah’s involvement, the opposition has failed to mobilize a significant groundswell of protest. The demonstration at the embassy came on the same day as an anti-Hezbollah rally in Beirut’s central Martyrs’ Square, but the protesters numbered in their dozens, rather than the hundreds that organizers had hoped for. Empty chairs were cleared away as speakers took to the stage.
“I am a bit disappointed,” said Elie Abdelnour, a 28-year-old member of the National Liberal Party. “There were rumors of a counter-demonstration and I think some people are scared.” Others are resigned to the status quo, he said. “Before people used to give everything, but now the youth tends to look away.”
By Loveday Morris, Sunday, June 9, 8:30 PM
BEIRUT — A protester was shot dead in clashes outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut on Sunday as fragile Lebanon struggles to contain the backlash from the Shiite Hezbollah movement’s military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Around 30 demonstrators had gathered for a sit-in to protest Iran-backed Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria when they were attacked by a group of Hezbollah supporters brandishing sticks, witnesses said. The Lebanese army confirmed that gunfire had broken out, killing one of the demonstrators, but it was unclear if those shots were fired by the assailants or embassy guards.
There has been a surge in security incidents in Lebanon since Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite movement, announced his full backing for Assad in late May, compounding fears that the Syrian civil war, which has increasingly sectarian undertones, will enflame tensions in precariously balanced Lebanon.
The largely Sunni Free Syrian Army frequently fires rockets on Shiite areas of the Bekaa Valley, while last week saw the first serious clashes between Hezbollah and Syrian rebels on Lebanese soil. It followed the Syrian government’s capture of the border town of Qusair on Wednesday with backing from the movement’s elite guerrilla fighters.
A formidable political and military force in Lebanon, analysts have warned that Hezbollah’s increasingly visible role is likely to stir discontent not only between Sunnis and Shiites in the country, but also within the Shiite community itself.
Gen. Hassan Ayoub, a spokesman for the Lebanese army, said that Sunday’s protesters were supporters of Ahmed Asaad, a rare Shiite politician to take a stand against Hezbollah. He is head of the Lebanese Option Party, and ran unsuccessfully for parliament in 2009.
A photograph of the clashes taken by Reuters shows men in black shirts with yellow armbands — the color of Hezbollah’s flag — setting upon what appears to be an unarmed man in a white shirt and jeans. Another shows the men smashing the windows of a bus.
By mid-afternoon the streets around the embassy were quiet but around 50 soldiers were parked at the end of the street. Witnesses were reluctant to speak.
One local resident, who declined to be named because he feared reprisals, said that the embassy security guards had opened fire, but only shot in the air. A worker in a nearby grocery store agreed.
The army said in a statement that it is “pursuing” the person who opened fire and called on citizens to “express their political views on events in Lebanon and Syria by peaceful and democratic means and not to be driven by groups wanting to use violence as a means to achieve their ends.”
Even amid mounting anger against Hezbollah’s involvement, the opposition has failed to mobilize a significant groundswell of protest. The demonstration at the embassy came on the same day as an anti-Hezbollah rally in Beirut’s central Martyrs’ Square, but the protesters numbered in their dozens, rather than the hundreds that organizers had hoped for. Empty chairs were cleared away as speakers took to the stage.
“I am a bit disappointed,” said Elie Abdelnour, a 28-year-old member of the National Liberal Party. “There were rumors of a counter-demonstration and I think some people are scared.” Others are resigned to the status quo, he said. “Before people used to give everything, but now the youth tends to look away.”