Political crisis ignites violence in Lebanon
Source: Agencies |
January 26, 2011, Wednesday
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THE candidate for prime minister backed by Iranian-allied Hezbollah won support from lawmakers yesterday to form Lebanon's next government, a choice that set off a "day of rage" by Sunnis who burned tires and a van belonging to Al-Jazeera to protest the Shiite militant group's rising power.
Billionaire businessman and former premier Najib Mikati won a majority of parliament support in two days of voting, defeating Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the candidate for the next prime minister. The president will now ask Mikati to try to form a new government that could be controlled by Hezbollah and its allies and give the group an unprecedented level of political power in Lebanon.
The vote caps Hezbollah's steady rise over the past few decades from a resistance group fighting Israel to Lebanon's most powerful military and political force. The events of the past few days drew warnings from the US that its support for Lebanon could be in jeopardy, demonstrating the risks of international isolation if Hezbollah pushes its power too far.
Hezbollah's Sunni rivals, who support Hariri, demonstrated for a second day across the country including the capital Beirut and the main highway linking the capital with the southern port city of Sidon. A senior military official said several armed men fired in the air in west Beirut, but the army intervened and dispersed them.
Hariri thanked people for their support but called for restraint.
"I understand your emotions ... but this rage should not lead us to what is against our morals, faith and beliefs," he said.
Many fear the political crisis could re-ignite sectarian fighting similar to Shiite-Sunni street clashes that killed 81 people in Beirut in 2008.
Billionaire businessman and former premier Najib Mikati won a majority of parliament support in two days of voting, defeating Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the candidate for the next prime minister. The president will now ask Mikati to try to form a new government that could be controlled by Hezbollah and its allies and give the group an unprecedented level of political power in Lebanon.
The vote caps Hezbollah's steady rise over the past few decades from a resistance group fighting Israel to Lebanon's most powerful military and political force. The events of the past few days drew warnings from the US that its support for Lebanon could be in jeopardy, demonstrating the risks of international isolation if Hezbollah pushes its power too far.
Hezbollah's Sunni rivals, who support Hariri, demonstrated for a second day across the country including the capital Beirut and the main highway linking the capital with the southern port city of Sidon. A senior military official said several armed men fired in the air in west Beirut, but the army intervened and dispersed them.
Hariri thanked people for their support but called for restraint.
"I understand your emotions ... but this rage should not lead us to what is against our morals, faith and beliefs," he said.
Many fear the political crisis could re-ignite sectarian fighting similar to Shiite-Sunni street clashes that killed 81 people in Beirut in 2008.
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