Lebanese Army Increases Presence in Beirut After Hezbollah, Sunni Clashes

Lebanon’s army and the country’s internal security forces beefed up their presence in Beirut following a clash last week that killed three people.

After a meeting this week of the country’s Higher Defense Council, the army reinforced its forces by about 1,500 soldiers in Beirut, and the Internal Security Forces deployed six additional divisions, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement e-mailed late yesterday.

Clashes erupted in a Beirut neighborhood in the evening of Aug. 24 between followers of the Shiite Hezbollah movement and the pro-Syrian Sunni Al-Ahbash group. Rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns were used in the skirmish. Both groups said the incident was a result of a personal dispute and are cooperating with the Army, which is investigating the event.

The clashes were the worst since a bout of sectarian fighting in May 2008, in which at least 80 people were killed. Last week’s incident sparked a debate among members of the national unity government and the local media about arms possession outside the army and state security forces.

Lebanon’s cabinet agreed on Aug. 25 to form a commission to address the issue, and Defense Minister Elias Murr issued an order last week freezing “all arms licenses granted on all Lebanese territory until further notice,” according to a statement from the Lebanese Army.

Hezbollah, which is represented in Lebanon’s parliament and is part of the national unity government, retained its weapons after the country’s 15-year civil war ended in 1990, saying it needs them as a means of defense against Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon until 2000. The U.S. and Israel classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

To contact the reporter on this story: Massoud A. Derhally in Beirut at mderhally@bloomberg.net

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