[Marxism] Hezbollah fighters take much of Beirut

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@panix.com>]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-lebanon10-2008may10,0,1323502.story

Hezbollah fighters take much of Beirut
U.S.-backed security forces protect government buildings but avoid 
street clashes. "The situation is chaotic," says one official.
By Raed Rafei and Borzou Daragahi
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

4:10 AM PDT, May 9, 2008

BEIRUT — The Shiite militia Hezbollah today handily took over much of 
the capital in a dramatic escalation of the months-long confrontation 
with the Western-backed government, security officials said.

As Hezbollah swept through West Beirut, Lebanon's security forces, which 
received more than $270 million in U.S. aid last year, mostly stood by, 
protecting government buildings but stepping back from the clashes.

"Armed forces from the opposition have taken over Beirut; the situation 
is chaotic," said a ranking official of the Internal Security Force. 
"The army is controlling the sensitive spots like the [parliament] and 
the residences of main political figures, but the army is not 
interfering inside the alleys and the streets where the fights are 
taking place."

Hezbollah and its allies swept into West Beirut after two days of 
intense clashes with Sunni fighters loyal to the pro-government Future 
movement. The clashes were sparked by a government decision Tuesday to 
outlaw Hezbollah's fiber-optic communications network and remove an ally 
as head of security at the country's sole international airport.

Hezbollah's allies responded Wednesday by blockading the airport and 
setting tires on fire. In a major speech Thursday, Hezbollah chief 
Hassan Nasrallah likened the government's decision to a "declaration of 
war" on the Shiite militia and launched an offensive against the 
neighborhood strongholds and informal militias loyal to the government 
of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the leader of Lebanon's Sunni 
community, Saad Hariri.

Sporadic gunfire continued throughout Friday morning and early afternoon 
after an overnight thunderstorm subsided. But the heaviest fighting 
appeared to have ended following a routing of the Future movement by 
Hezbollah and fighters of the allied Amal movement.

Hezbollah and its allies avoided Christian neighborhoods, which remained 
calm, focusing their offensive on Sunni and mixed Sunni-Shiite districts 
of the capital. The operation effectively neutered the growing militia 
of Hariri's Future movement, which was viewed by security forces and 
Hezbollah as a potential threat to security.

Across West Beirut, streets were mostly devoid of civilians. Armed 
Shiite militiamen guarded streets, asking passersby for identification 
cards in what locals described as a harrowing reminder of the worst days 
of Lebanon's 1975 to 1990 civil war.

Inside Tariq Jdideh, a Sunni neighborhood in West Beirut, a group of 
around five men in their 20s, one holding an assault rifle and wearing a 
ski mask, stood on a corner near a Future movement office.

"We don't have ammunition," one said.

"My parents want me to go back," said another. "All these guys you see 
here are university students. We are not prepared for a war."

A man emerging from the office told everybody to go home. "I got orders 
for everybody to leave," he told the young men. "They will attack us. 
They will come and beat us. Let's all leave."

One man in the neighborhood, Tawfiq Saade, lamented the loss of his 
shop, which he said was burned down because of a rocket attack. "They 
fire rocket-propelled grenades at us as if we were the enemy," said the 
60-year-old. "What can we do? We won't leave our homes."   Hezbollah 
effectively shut down the Future movement's television station, scaring 
off employees and handing the empty offices over to the army. "The 
station was closed down for security reasons," said Samir al-Ashi, a 
spokesman for the movement.

The country's national carrier, Middle East Airlines, has announced that 
it has suspended all incoming and outgoing flights until Saturday afternoon.

daragahi@latimes.com

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