Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 
Lebanese Opposition Forces Prevail, Army Deploys in Beirut, Tripoli, and the Moutntain, 40 Killed in 5 Days

Almanar.com, May 11, 2008

Fighters from Al-Tawhid and the National Democratic parties defeated the pro-government militia of Walid Jumblat in the Mountain-Shuwaifat. Jumblat fighters fled the battlefields leaving the opposition fighters in control of the Druze area.

Opposition fighters then withdrew as the Lebanese Army deployed in the area. Sporadic shootings occurred as the Army forced its way to the positions of Jumblat's fighters.

The five-day fighting in Beirut, Tripoli, and the Mountain left the opposition forces in control of the country, only to concede that control to the Lebanese Army, after the Saniora government had requested the Army's intervention. Now, everything goes back to the status-quo ante.

Army deploys in north Lebanon as Beirut takeover ends

By Agence France Presse (AFP) Sunday, May 11, 2008

by Omar Ibrahim

TRIPOLI, Lebanon, May 11, 2008 (AFP) -

Lebanese soldiers deployed in the northern city of Tripoli on Sunday after fierce battles between rival clans as the Hizbullah-led opposition handed over control of west Beirut to the army.

The Arab League was set to hold emergency talks in Egypt on the crisis.

A security official said fierce battles erupted overnight in Tripoli between Sunni supporters of the Western-backed government and members of an Alawite sect loyal to Hizbullah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran.

One woman was killed and at least five people were wounded as thousands fled the clashes. The fighting eased by mid-morning and the army was able to enter the affected areas.

Many homes and businesses in districts where the battles raged were torched, shop windows were broken and bullet casings littered the streets, AFP correspondents reported.

Residents of Tripoli could hear heavy machine gun fire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades throughout the night.

The firefights focused on the densely populated Bab al-Tebbanah, Kobbah and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods on the northern edge of the coastal city. 

Pro-government demonstrators on Saturday burned office of the pro-Syrian Ba'ath Party in Tripoli and fierce clashes in the Akkar region farther north left 14 people dead.

The overnight battle in the north came despite a return to an uneasy calm in the capita Beirut, where four days of fierce fighting pitted mainly supporters of the ruling bloc against opposition gunmen.

The fighters appeared to have vanished from the streets of the capital early on Sunday, but some barricades put up by the gunmen remained and the airport road was shut for the fifth straight day.

The opposition announced on Saturday it was ending its takeover of large swathes of west Beirut after the army revoked government measures aimed at curbing the group.

"The opposition welcomes the army's decision and will proceed with the withdrawal of all its armed elements so that control of the capital is handed over to the military," an opposition statement said.

Lebanon army freezes government moves against Hezbollah, Lebanese opposition to withdraw militants from Beirut

By Agence France Presse (AFP) Sunday, May 11, 2008

BEIRUT, May 10, 2008 (AFP) -

The Lebanese army said on Saturday it had frozen measures taken by the government against the Hizbullah movement, and called for all gunmen to withdraw from the streets.

"The army command calls on all parties to (help restore calm) by ending armed protests and withdrawing gunmen from the streets and opening the roads," the military said in a statement.

It said that the head of airport security, who had been reassigned from his job, would remain in his post pending an investigation and that the army would look into the  Hizbullah communications network.

"The head of airport security, Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir, will remain in his post until appropriate procedural measures have been taken after a probe," the statement said.

"As for the telecommunications network, the army will look into the issue in a manner that is not harmful to the public interest or the security of the resistance" against Israel, it said.

The military said it had taken these decisions in the light of a government wish that it rule on these matters. The army statement came shortly after Prime Minister Fuad Siniora made a televised address to the nation. 

Tuesday's government decision to reassign Shuqair and launch a judicial probe into the communications network sparked bloody clashes that saw Huzbullah seize control of west Beirut.

The army's announcement was seen as a way out of the violence that has rocked the country, leaving at least nearly 40 people dead and virtually closing Lebanon off from the outside world.

Following this announcement, the opposition said it would withdraw its gunmen from the capital and called on the country's army to take control of Beirut, an official close to the opposition said. "The opposition welcomes the army's decision and will proceed with the withdrawal of all its armed elements so that control of the capital is handed over to the military," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

His comments came shortly after the army said it was freezing government measures against Hezbollah that sparked four days of deadly unrest.

The official, said however, that the opposition would maintain a civil disobedience campaign against the Western-backed government.-AFP

 

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