The Washington Post reports that a Shiite protester was shot dead yesterday in Lebanon. Tensions are rising, clashes between Sunni and Shiite are increasing and rumors are swirling. The coup attempt by Hezbollah is proceeding apace.
BEIRUT, Dec. 3 — Sunni residents and Shiite protesters clashed in the capital Sunday, leaving one man dead and raising tension across Lebanon on a third day of demonstrations aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
The shooting death of the Shiite protester was the first reported since Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim movement, and its allies launched their anti-government campaign Friday, sending hundreds of thousands of followers to downtown Beirut, where armor, barricades and troops guarded the government headquarters where the prime minister has taken up residence. Thousands have camped there since, housed in canvas tents spread across downtown; tens of thousands more joined them Sunday.
Lebanese television stations and Hezbollah officials reported several clashes in Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, and rumors swirled about the extent of the violence in a city and country riven by divisions of politics, personal loyalties and sect. The worst clash was at the edge of the Sunni neighborhood of Tariq Jdideh, for weeks one of the city's tensest fault lines. Television stations said Sunni residents threw stones at a van carrying Shiite protesters from downtown after nightfall. Passengers got out and, in the ensuing melee, a few cars were damaged before the army stepped in and broke up the crowd.
Accounts differed on the death of the protester, whom Hezbollah officials identified as a 26-year-old. Some said he was shot during the melee, others after it was broken up. Lebanese security officials said they were still trying to confirm the details of the death. News agencies reported that as many as 12 people were hurt in all in the clashes.
With Syria and Iran emboldened right now, Lebanon hangs in the balance. Had the UN resolution requiring the disarmament of Hezbollah been enforced, this clash might not have happened at all. Sadly, we're watching history repeat there instead.
